Power Rangers Atlantis Knights
by starspejd
Summary: We're finally back. Golzor challenges Ben to a fight and lures him away from his friends. Can his friends find and save him before it's to late?
1. Chapter 1: The Powers Awaken

**Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights**

Well, this is my fanfic over Power Rangers. This all sorta came at random while at work, but I like the idea and after radical changes this is the result. (=spoilers)In short, this episode tell how Benjamin, Katherine and Joseph becomes the Atlantis Knight Power Rangers. It happens by accident when they unaware helps release an ancient evil. King Haslan begs for their help and they take it upon themselves to become Power Rangers. They are able to scare Wyrmina away, but they were unable to capture her. So there you have it. The start of a whole new season which will last as long as I have inspiration. I even made up lyrics for the story and each chapter will be a single episode. This one spans 20 A4 pages and 9.800 words.

* * *

**Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights.**

Power Rangers. Atlantis! (5 sec melody)

Ancient powers with ancient ways.

Coming to our world today.

Powers of Water, Power Unite.

Come and face this evil tonight. (4 sec pause)

Ancient evils awaken anew.

Only you can stop their crew.

Heroes come to save the day.

Power Rangers come our way. (4 sec pause.)

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Atlantis Knights… GO!

**Episode 1: The Powers Awaken.**

"Hey Katherine! You there?" Ben shouted from below her window. He stretched his long neck, trying to make himself even taller than he was and to look through the window. Of course it was a futile attempt. The window was several meters up. Ben lived with his mother and little brother and usually helped out at home. But not today. Today was a beautiful summer day and Benjamin, Katherine and Joseph had made plans to go mountain climbing in the Golden Spring's Mountain Park. Joseph had slept at Ben's house and the two of them were all ready to go. They had pre-packed their backpacks and had made food this morning. All they needed now was Katherine.

"Hold on" her voice sounded from above. "I'll be there in a minute."

Ben and Joseph looked at each other and Joseph mumbled a silent "women" and they both burst into laughter. Joseph was smaller than both Ben and Katherine. He was also the youngest, but he had a friendly and outgoing personality, so no one could ever overlook him. His blond hair was recently cut short, yet he still moved a hand up to his forehead, as to shove the hair away. As the two of them stood there, all dressed up in practical clothes and waiting for their friend, they ran over the plan once more.

First, they would bike out to the Mountain Park west of the city. Once there, they were going to find an easy looking mountain and start climbing. It was one of the last days in their summer vacation before starting at the local High-School and they were going to make the best of it. They had promised to be home by sundown and the ride alone would take about an hour.

Finally, Katherine came out. She was wearing practical clothes like the others and had her backpack filled. "Took you long enough" Joseph said in a friendly tone as he put on his own backpack again. His lips flickered in a smile as he said it.

"Yeah, my parents don't understand that I don't want to dress up like other girls instead of going mountain climbing" Katherine explained. Her long blond hair rested calmly on her yellow shirt.

"What I don't understand" Ben said jokingly as he saddled up on his red mountain bike, "is why you don't listen to your parents more often." They started their bikes and sat a course for the Mountain Park. "After all, you guys have the money. Why not spend some once in a while?" He asked shortly after.

The trio rode were soon making good speed and Katherine answered. "Because, as I've told you before, I want to work for my money" Katherine said in a calm manner, indicating that she had indeed told them before. After a small pause she added: "Besides, I don't want you guys to feel poor."

"That's alright" Joseph said as he caught up. "You can just buy us stuff as well." They all erupted in laughter. The sun was shining on a crystal blue sky. Scattered clouds drifted lazily by and none but a small wind was stirring. As they rode towards the Mountain Park, Golden Springs were slowly replaced by forest, until the city was gone and they were riding on the main road through the forest. The forest was dominated by pine trees due to their rapid growth. The three teenagers rode through the forest faster and faster. After an hour they finally arrived at the Mountain Park.

"Alright" Joseph said. "Let's get climbing."

"Hold your horses, Joseph" Benjamin said from behind. "We have to pay for the entrance and then be shown to an easy mountain." Joseph looked towards the mountains, then at Ben. He sighed, but it was clear that it was a joke. They giggled and went towards the counter. No one was standing in line but the cars at the parking lot indicated that there were already several visitors. Whether they had come for mountain climbing or just to enjoy a day outside and have a picnic was unknown. Once at the register, Katherine paid for all of them and they were given a map, along with the clerk's wishes of an enjoyable day.

Once inside the park, they sat at the nearest table and studied the map. "It seems like there is an easy one, just half a mile north" Katherine said and pointed on the map. "It's also easy accessible, if you follow this path."

"Hmm, we could do that, but there are probably a lot of people already. How about this one?" Ben suggested as he pointed at the map. "It's pretty far away from… well… everything, but at least we won't have people at our backs all the time." They studied the map, calculating the distance and the time needed to get there. Soon, however, they decided and left for the mountain pointed out by Ben. The gang picked up their backpacks and begun the hike towards the mountain.

It took them almost an hour to get there. They had to go through dense forest parts, up and down steep hills and climb down a short cliff. But when they finally reached the mountain, they were all fairly content. "Good job guys" Ben said as he placed his back at the footing of the mountain. "Let's take a quick rest before heading upwards." They rested and stretched their legs. Joseph found a few apples which they shared and he put the rest in his bag. Soon, they were buckling up again and strapped each other in.

When they were ready, they began to ascend the mountain. They had already decided that their first goal was to reach a small ledge sticking out some hundred meters above. They climbed slowly, making sure to not make any mistakes. After all, if they got hurt, no one would be able to get to them any time soon. As they slowly climbed the mountain the sun rose on the sky. Every now and then a footing could crumble of a few rocks would be pushed loose, but they had no serious accidents. By midday, all three of them were sitting on the ledge, enjoying a bottle of water and some sandwiches.

"We're doing great" Ben said panting. His red T-shirt was covered in sweat and in the heat of the day, it helped to keep him cool. They were sitting in the shadow side of the ledge, near a cavern, to avoid sunburn.

"We are making better progress then I thought" Katherine agreed. She looked down and could barely see the restrooms that had been placed at the foot of the mountain. They ate their sandwiches while chatting and joking. When their break had ended, they got up.

"We should get going" Ben said. "It seems like the great weather is about to end." They looked up and saw that many, heavier clouds had replaced the few light ones. The wind had also begun to blow up a bit. Ben grinded his teeth and wished he had brought a sweatshirt.

"Anyone who wants to explore the cavern?" Joseph asked. He had been staring into it throughout the break and was curious as to what was inside. The others replied that he could just go in and take a quick look while they readied the gear. Joseph slowly entered the cavern. He had taken a flashlight and turned it on. The circle of light revealed nothing of interest. Rocks, dust, small bugs. Nothing special.

"Finding anything in there?" Ben called in.

"Not yet" Joseph answered. "I'll be out in a moment." He swung the flashlight to the right and saw the path turn. As he took the swing he was confronted with a crossroad. The path had split into two – one going right, the other left. He lifted the flashlight to get a better view. Apparently, the left was a dead end, but the right seemed to go on. He stepped slowly forward when suddenly he felt something on his shoulder. He jumped forward and turned around. There he saw Ben and Katherine, both laughing. "Very funny guys" he said sourly and turned around again.

"Aw, come on" Katherine said. "You do that all the time."

"But not in a dark cavern, Kate" Joseph replied. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"The weather is blowing up" Ben said, a smirk still covering his lips. "It's about to rain and we aren't experienced enough to climb on wet rocks. So we went in to get you."

"Well, if it's raining and all" Joseph said and pointed his flashlight towards the right tunnel. "I'd like to go in there." The gang quickly agreed. Now that they were inside the mountain anyhow, they might as well do some exploring. Besides, it would keep them dry. They began to walk down the right path. The stone walls were covered in dust and the floor both by dead bugs and what seemed to be the leftovers of bats.

The three teenagers walked through the path for what felt like hours. When Ben looked at his watch he was surprised to find that only a quarter had gone by. "Must be the darkness" he thought and shrugged it off. They kept on going through the tunnel, now more occupied by this than their mountain climbing. They could no longer hear the howling of the wind outside. It was completely dark, except for where their flashlights pointed.

Finally they reached the end of the tunnel. It was a small circular room – not 10 meters across. While Joseph and Katherine explored the room, Ben bowed down and took a look at the ground. Just like the walls in the tunnel it was covered in dust, but when he brushed it aside, he saw something shimmering. He dug it free and lifted it into his hand. It was a small crystal. It shone bright in the light of Ben's flashlight and Ben could see that the crystal had the entire spectrum of colours. Red in on end, turning pink, yellow, green and finally blue. He walked over to the others, both to show them the crystal and to see if they had found anything.

After they had taken a short look at it Ben asked if they had any ideas. "Looks like a diamond to me" Katherine said.

"I thought you didn't do jewels, Kate" Joseph said jokingly.

"I don't" Katherine answered grave. "But this looks like some of the diamonds my mother has."

"I've never heard that there should be a diamond mine anywhere near Golden Springs" Ben said wonderingly. "So where does this one come from?"

"Maybe it's like a key" Joseph said. "Like, in those movies, where you have to place it somewhere to open a door or something." He looked eagerly at the others. Ben and Katherine had their doubts but now that they were here, they might as well check it out. They began to search the walls again. After some time when they were about to give up, Katherine called out. Benjamin and Joseph both hurried over. As Katherine shoved some dust of the wall, some markings were revealed.

"What do you think this is?" she asked wondering. Neither Ben nor Joseph had any idea so they brushed the dust around the markings away. More were revealed and soon five lines of symbols had been revealed. 

Underneath them was a hole in the wall, shaped like the crystal. "Do you think we should put it in there?" Katherine asked nervously.

"Only one way to find out" Ben said as he placed the crystal in the hole. At first nothing happened. They waited a few seconds but there was just silence. "Well I guess that answers that question."

Then the chamber began to shake. Mildly at first but soon grew in strength. Dust and gravel were shaken loose from the ceiling and the teens were having trouble standing. "This is your fault, you know that?" Joseph yelled over the rumbling.

"My fault?" Ben shouted back. "You were the one who wanted to go in here." A sudden burst in tremor knocked them all to their knees.

As they struggled to regain control, Joseph shouted back: "You ere the one who had to put in the crystal."

"GUYS!" Katherine shouted. They turned to face her, surprised of her yelling as well as the terror on her face. "This isn't the time or place to play the blame game. We have to get out of here."

"Right" they both said. They began to make their way towards the exit. It was only 8 meters from where they were, but the mountain was shaking a lot now. Just as they had almost reached the exit, a large boulder on the other side of it fell down and blocked their path.

"Oh no" Ben said. "What are we gonna do?"

"Look!" Ben turned around to see what Joseph was pointing at. All three teenagers were staring at a strange light, emanating from the wall. "Walls aren't supposed to do that" Joseph said scared.

"It looks like some sort of doorway" Katherine said.

"But why is it here? And where does it go?" Ben asked. Then, a boulder fell in the middle of the room.

"We don't have time for questions now" Katherine said and made her way towards the doorway. "Are you coming?" The boys nodded and followed her. Once at the opposite wall, they looked at each other, took a deep breath and jumped through the light.

* * *

"Ugh my head" Ben thought as he regained conciseness. "It feels like it was hit by a cave-in or something." Then it came back to him. They _had_ been in a cave-in, only to be rescued by going through a door of light. He felt around, eyes closed. Apparently, he was lying on a stone floor. He took a few minutes, letting the headache subside a bit. Then he finally opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a huge building. It was blue-green and seemed covered in moss. The building had crumbled at the op and the wall had crumbled in several places. He looked around, only to see more ruins of the same architecture and colours. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The floor appeared to be a street and had the same blue-green moss colour.

Then Ben turned his attention to his friends. Both Joseph and Katherine were lying on their backs, moaning. Slowly, Ben crawled towards them trying to bring them back to consciousness.

"What happened?" Joseph asked. From his voice, Ben deducted that he felt the same headache as he did. Ben told him that he didn't know and turned to Katherine. She tried to get up and Ben helped her. Once they were all up and standing, they took a look around. There was nothing new. Ruins as far as the eye could see in any direction. Ben looked up and noticed that the sky looked extremely dark blue. As he pointed it out to the others they looked up. But none of them had any idea as of why.

They began to debate their situation. If you were lost, the best thing to do was stay put until someone found you. But where were they? The three teenagers had no idea. There were no signs of the doorway they had gone through, which meant that there was no easy retreat. That left them with only one option – to search the ruins for some other way out. Before heading on, Ben took a look at his watch. He was surprised to see it had stopped. He made a note of having it repaired once they got back.

They began to walk what had once been the streets of a magnificent city. They walked slowly in order not to jolt their headaches. The last they needed was another surge of pain. As they walked amongst the ruins, they couldn't help but to stare in wonder. What architecture. Even as ruins, the buildings had a strange serene beauty. Ben, Katherine and Joseph kept walking and after a short while they reached what seemed like the main plaza.

A large spring covered the middle of the plaza. All around it were benches carved in marble. It was a beauteous sight to behold. They walked closer to the spring and put down their backpacks. When they looked at the fountain, they found that much to their surprise, the spring was almost dry. Only a little water – no more than a puddle – was left. "I wonder what happened here" Katherine said, bend over the fountain.

Ben had been wondering the same thing since they arrived. "And where is everyone?" Ben asked as he turned around. Gulp

"Huh?" Joseph said as he and Katherine turned around. They sank as well. In front of them stood seven guards, all pointing their spears at them. Their armour seemed to be made of blue metal, with something that Ben identified as shells, covering them. They didn't look friendly and the three friends backed up towards the fountain.

"This is what you get for asking" Joseph said.

"Now you play the blame game?" Ben asked back in disbelief. Without waiting for an answer he regained his cool and looked up at the guards. "Hey there. We were just wondering the streets of your lovely ruins, looking for a way back. Now if you'll move out of the way we will be going immediately."

"You really think that's going to work?" Katherine asked silently.

"If not, we fight."

"Against them?" Joseph asked using the same low voice as the others. "I don't know if you didn't notice it but they have spears. Spears! Long, sharp, pointy things that can kill us!"

"Joseph's right, you know" Katherine said.

"It's good to know you guys are with me" Ben replied without sarcasm. They all knew that if it came down to it, they would fight against them. The guards were standing still, mumbling between themselves. Apparently, they reached an agreement, for one of them was sent running away, probably to get something. Or maybe someone. The remaining guards closed in, still pointing their spears at them. One of them said something at Ben, but the teenagers couldn't figure out what.

"We mean you no harm" Ben tried again, lifting his hands above his head. The others followed his example. The guards were unaffected. They crept slowly closer. When they stopped, only a single meter separated the six remaining guards and the three teenagers, who were standing against the fountain's edge. "Fighting it is then. You guys ready?"

"Alright" Katherine said as she readied herself.

"Let's do it" Joseph agreed as he got into position.

"Let's go!" Ben said and they launched at the first few guards. The guards were completely taken by surprise and the three of them were able to knock over the first few, before they split up. Two of the guards had followed Ben closer to the edge of the plaza. Here he turned around a kicked the guard in the stomach. The guard stumbled back and the other stepped in. He swung his lance at Ben and Ben dodged to avoid the blow. He slammed his hands to ground, to maintain balance, as he made a low kick on the upstanding guard.

Joseph had lures his two guards towards a crumbled ruin. As he reached it he turned around and dodged a thrust from a spear. He grabbed the spear as he rose again, wrestling the guard for it. The other tried to hit him, but Joseph was able to use the spear, still in the hands of the other guard, to block several blows. Then he pushed the spear back at the guard who stumbled and fell. Joseph turned around again, ran towards the building, the other guard in close pursuit. Upon reaching the wall he jumped, kicked off and landed a kick in the soldiers head. The soldier fell and landed upon his fellow guard.

Katherine was doing as well as her male counterparts. The guards that had followed her across the spring had already taken quite a beating. Katherine had been able to back flip to avoid any and all cuts from the spears and her swift kicks had brought both of the guards to the ground once. But now they were both back up and had learned. The guards avoided her legs when she kicked out and swung their spears at her back. The blow knocked her to the ground.

"Katherine!" Ben shouted as he saw her fall. But he had let down his guard and his opponents weren't slow to take advantage of that. Ben felt the spears hit his back and fell down. As he hit the ground the headache came back and he couldn't move. He saw Joseph was trying to make his way towards them, but to no use. He as well was struck down. They were still awake, when the guards dragged them all back to the fountain and threw them together.

"Wow" Katherine moaned. "That… went well."

"Could have been… worse" Ben gasped.

"How? How can… it be worse… than this?" Joseph asked.

"They could… have… killed us."

"I'm glad they... didn't" Katherine said still all out of breath. As they lay on their back they all turned their eyes towards the sky. Not that they had the strength to do otherwise. Ben made another mental note about the sky being unusually dark. Then he noticed something. What he had perceived at the sky seemed to be a giant sphere. He noticed what seemed like metallic arms keeping it at its place. When he had the breath to speak again, he asked the others what they thought. None of them had any idea but had made the same observation.

Ben was just about to see if he could get up and sit, when his eyes saw something big in the "sky."

"Do you guys… see what I see?" They looked closer, then gasped.

"Is that a..?" Joseph started.

"Whale?" Katherine continued. "But whales don't fly. They swim. In very deep waters."

"Then where are we?" Joseph asked.

Ben had absolutely no idea and didn't answer the question. They waited for another ten minutes. During this time, they managed to get up and sit, which nearly triggered another beating by the guards, before the teenagers were able to convince the guards that they merely wanted to sit up.

Then they heard footsteps. They turned their heads to look in the direction of the sound. Apparently, that guard from before had been sent to fetch someone. The remaining guards stepped aside, allowing the person to come closer to the teenagers.

"¿Quien sois?" the man said. His voice was a bit rusty, as if he hadn't used it in years. He wore a cape, similar in colour to both the guards armour and the ruins. "¿Porque sois aqui?" The three teenagers looked at each other. They didn't understand a word.

"Look, as we tried to tell your guards, we mean you no harm. We don't even know where we are; let alone how we are going to get away. All we want is to…"

"Speak… English… you do?" the man said, taking his time to get every pronunciation right. They stared in shock. He could understand them.

"Yes we do" Katherine said.

"Give… moment…" the man said again and turned to his soldiers. He gave what could only have been an order and the soldier ran towards one of the buildings. Before the shocked teenagers had the time to ask, the soldier came running back holding a small pouch. As he rejoined the others he handed over the small pouch. Ben noted that the soldier wasn't fatigued at all. He had been running pretty fast in what seemed like some pretty heavy armour, but there was nothing in his breath to give away any sort of weakness.

The man with the cape put his hand into the pouch and when he pulled it up, it was holding three beans. He handed one to each of them and once they had all gained one he gave a single command. "Eat." Even though it was spoken in bad English, it was clear that they were to eat the bean. They looked at each other and put the bean in their mouths at the same time. They chewed and sank.

"Yew" Joseph exclaimed after eating.

"I'll second that" Ben said coughing.

"It's an acquired taste, that's for sure" Katherine joined in.

"That may be, but I think you'll find it easier to be here now" the man with the cape before them said. Ben, Joseph and Katherine looked at him surprised. They understood everything thing perfectly. "Now then, let's try again. Who are you and why are you here?" The man had a friendly look in his eyes and his tone was friendly. Ben began to introduce them.

"My name's Benjamin, but my friends call me Ben. This is Katherine, or Kate, and this is Joseph." The man nodded at each of them in turn. Ben then began to explain how they had been mountain climbing and searched a cavern. How there had been a cave-in and then finally how they had found themselves in this place.

"Hmm, yes. I see. I would like to ask you further about everything but let's continue this conversation at a more… pleasant location." The man signalled for the guards and the teenagers and began to walk.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir" Katherine said as they began to walk. "Who are you? And where is this?"

The man clucked. "Ah yes, I've completely forgotten." The man stopped and turned around. "I am King Haslan, and this, is the kingdom of Atlantis."

* * *

"Uh?" a voice said in the dark. The voice was male, yet any who heard it, would know that it wasn't human. "Hey, Quiser, the tremor stopped." The other figure, known as Quiser, climbed to his knees. He was tall, slim yet a single look would show that he held great power. His face was haggard of many battles and his age.

"Yes, it has. Now let's open the tomb" Quiser said as he lit a lantern. In the flickering light he could see his partner, Fuboon. The two of them had just survived a cave-in. Quiser and himself had ventured into the cavern in order to find the tomb of their long lost mistress. Finally, they had found the chamber and had followed all prescriptions to release her. But she hadn't been released. All that had happened was that the rest of the cavern had been sealed off and the two of them were trapped. It hadn't been long, before there had been a cave-in and the two of them had nearly been killed in the falling debris.

But now that the tremors had stopped, they could investigate the chamber closer. It was circular in nature with rugged walls. In the middle was a large sarcophagus. Quiser and Fuboon walked closer and checked it out. There was no apparent opening mechanism but they knew how to do it. Fuboon and Quiser gathered on the right side of it, and began to push the lit. The two seals that had once held it in place had been removed. Slowly, they were able to push the lit aside and after a few minutes, the lit had fallen to the floor.

"Woohoo, we finally did it" Fuboon said overjoyed. Fuboon was nothing like his partner. He was small, fat and wasn't really the smartest guy around. Just as his voice, his blue skin gave away that he clearly wasn't human.

"Yes. Now let's wake her up." They turned and looked inside the sarcophagus. Inside of it was their mistress. She was sleeping, just as she had done the last 4000 years. Her black clothes rested peacefully on her thin body. Her black wings were bent on her back. Her nails were as long as they had been 4000 years ago.

"So, uh… How do we wake her up?" Fuboon asked.

Quiser sighed. "Don't tell me you forgot" he said.

"Uh okay, then I won't tell you I forgot, even though I did." Quiser clasped his forehead. How had he been able to stand this buffoon for so long? He had no idea.

"It's simple. All we have to do is sprinkle some of this magic dust on her eyes and she will wake up."

"Ohh that's right" Fuboon said. Quiser took some of the magic dust he kept in a satchel and sprinkled some on their mistress' eyes. As her eyes began to vibrate, they stepped back, allowing her some room. Slowly, she sat up. She stretched her arms and climbed out of the sarcophagus.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked, not paying her minions any attention. Instead, she was studying her arms, legs, wings and the rest of her body. Quiser told her that she had been sleeping for the past 4000 years. "Why weren't I woken sooner?"

"Some tried, but they were all defeated by the Atlantian guardians."

"I see." She turned to where the door was supposed to be. "I have been trapped far too long by these Atlantians. It is time to extract my revenge. How many are there?" Quiser told her, that all they knew off was a hidden city which only those pure of heart could enter. "Then we'll have to make the Atlantians come to us." She turned to the door again. She then raised her hand and a blast fired out. The boulder was reduced to rubble. "Now boys, show me to the nearest city. I feel like having a blast. Hahaha."

* * *

The three teenagers, the guards and the king were walking through the halls of a mighty castle. The teenagers were still trying to wrap their head around being underwater. They had been told that the bean they had eaten before was called a lingo-bean. Not only did it enable them to understand the Atlantians, but it also prevented the headache.

The inside of the castle were as magnificent as the outside. The walls were the same colours they had seen in the entire city, but every now and then, a painting would pride the walls, carpets soften the marble floor and windows broke the ever stretching wall. Compared to the ruins, the castle was extremely well maintained. Not once did they see any sign of collapse.

They entered what could only be the throne room. It was a large room with purple carpets. From the ceiling hang a giant chandelier, the walls were prided of what must have been the last kings. King Haslan went to his throne and sat, the teenagers following. He signalled for the guards to leave and they disappeared.

"Now, I am sure that you have many questions" the king said as he looked at each teenager in turn. "But before I answer them, you must promise, never to tell anyone that this place exists."

"We promise to keep your secret" Ben said grave. The others agreed and the king nodded.

"Very well then. Now, I'll answer some of your questions, if it is within my power."

"How did Atlantis end up down here?" Katherine asked.

"Ah yes, an interesting question. Let me see… It all started 4000 years ago. The Atlantians were the only people in the world and our technology was unmatched. We had colonies all over the world, with the capitol here and the largest city in what you call America. We lived in peace with each other. There was no war, no crime. But still, there were those who weren't sure of our safety and they designed weapons to help defend us. For a long time there was no need of these weapons, until one day…

"An evil entity known as Wyrmina arrived at Earth. She sought to enhance her realm and planned Earth as her next goal. Even with our technology, she was still able to take out many Atlantians and destroy many cities. Then five young Atlantians stood up. They used the weapons made centuries ago and were finally successful in sealing Wyrmina in a sarcophagus, at the expanse of their own lives.

"In order to prevent her from ever rising again, we constructed a crystal lock. Only by placing two nearly, identical crystals, could she be freed. The crystals were then hit on each their side of the planet. Our next step was to sink the entire city to prevent such a disaster could ever happen again. Were sealed of all gates and only kept the one at her sarcophagus that would open once, every 1000 years, so we could see how the world was doing. We do not wish to interfere with the natural evolution, so that's why we are still here."

The king stopped his speech. The teenagers looked at each other. Now they knew how the city had wound up here, but what of the cave-in? Had it been one of the crystals? They were about to ask when a guard ran into the room. At the same time, the colour of the room changed to shades of red, and a high-pitched sound emanated from the walls.

"I bring dire news sire" the guard started.

"Well what is it?" King Haslan asked. "Why have the alarm gone off?"

"It's Wyrmina, sir. She's escaped."

"She has what?" The king asked in disbelief.

The teenagers cut in. "The Wyrmina from the legend?"

"The very same. But how did she break free?"

The teenagers looked at each other then Ben asked carefully: "What do the crystals look like?" The king seemed to think for a moment before telling them. The crystals were shaped like a diamond, one shining white, the other with the colour spectrum. "Then some of it might have been our fault sire." Ben explained how they had been trapped, found the crystal and placed it in its socket.

"But what about the white one" the king asked. "It would have to already be in place."

"It's possible it was already. The left part was blocked, maybe by a similar cave-in."

"This isn't good" the king mumbled. Then he turned his attention to the guard. "Where is she now?"

"She is attacking a nearby city. I believe it's called Golden Springs."

The teenagers stared horrified at each other. That was their hometown. "You have to stop her" Joseph said.

"Yes, and I wish we could" the king said sadly. "But because of the spell, we cannot leave this place. It is not the right time." He held a small pause. "But there might be a way…"

"What is it?" Katherine asked.

"You three go in our place."

"What?" they all exclaimed.

"Yes, you go. You can leave this place but we cannot. It's the only way."

"But how can we defeat her?" Ben asked. "We're just teenagers."

"We will give you the weapons of ages past." The king signalled for the guard to fetch them. The teenagers had many questions and asked all of them, but the king refused to answer. This burden weighted heavy on him. Finally the guard came back. In his hands was a medium-sized box. The king rose from his chair and walked towards the teenagers. "These are the legendary weapons" he said. "With these, I am sure you can catch Wyrmina."

"But before we show you, we must be sure that you will do everything in your power to bring her back. You can never tell anyone about this place. And last, you can NEVER tell of what we are about to show you."

The rangers nodded. They understood the gravity of the situation and they were ready. If the city had any hope, they were it.

The king stood in front of Ben. The guard came closer and the king took something from the box. "These are your Aqua Morphers. They were designed millennia's ago but they are still working. You strap it around your left arm and take this red sphere in your right. Let the two pass once and then slam them together. You will then become the_ Atlantis Knight Power Rangers_.

"Ben. Because of your natural leadership, I give to you the Red Aqua Morpher. You will become the Red Atlantis Knight and your suit will let you withstand heat and understand the nature. Katherine. For your free spirit, we give to you the Yellow Aqua Morpher. You will become the Yellow Atlantis Knight and your suit will let you withstand some heat and illuminate dark places. And Joseph. For you, we grant the Blue Aqua Morpher. You will become the Blue Atlantis Knight and your suit will let you breathe under water withstand the cold."

Ben looked at his morpher. Its surface was something that looked like coloured glass. Below it, a metallic body probably made for the power keep. On the back was a wrist strap. The sphere he held in his other hand was glowing dimly red.

The king stepped back and watched as the three teenagers strapped on their morphers. Again he explained how the morphers were activated. The actual morpher was strapped on to the left arm, the trigger sphere in the right. The left arm was raised above their heads, the right hanging down. The arm traded places, the sphere and morpher barely touching. The left arm was then to be straightened forward with the right held behind the back. The last step would be bending the left arm in a 90 degree angle and slam the coloured sphere in the right hand into the coloured display on the morphers.

"Now go, rangers. The only way back is through the place you came. Do you remember where it is?"

"Yes, we remember" Ben said. "But why can't you open a portal closer to us?"

"As I told you, the portals were sealed off by magic. It will take time to unseal them. But I assure you, we will begin immediately." He waved them off. "Now go. Your city needs you." The rangers turned around and ran out of the throne room.

"Are you sure it was a wise decision?" the captain of the guards asked.

"I don't know. But it's the only option."

"With all due respect sire, you could just have waited a few months and then the Atlantis Guards could have done it."

"But as you just pointed out, it would take months." The king had a grave look on his face. "And think of the casualties. No, I believe this was the right thing to do."

* * *

"Argh! Help us!" The citizens of the western most part of Golden Springs had been attacked. Wyrmina fired another blast, her long nails glowing vividly. As the blast hit a car the car was completely destroyed. Wyrmina and her henchmen, Quiser and Fuboon, took a few steps forth.

"Ahh it's so refreshing to finally be free again." Wyrmina turned around to face her henchmen. "And when did you say the Atlantians could be here to stop me?" Quiser told her that it would be a few months at least. "Perfect." She turned around and continued her terror. Then suddenly she felt something and stopped. "Do you feel that?" she asked Fuboon and Quiser.

"The only thing I feel is the tacos I had last night" Fuboon said.

"Don't mind him, oh evil one. But what do you feel?" Quiser asked flattering. Unlike his companion, he knew how to stay on her safe side.

"I feel… a surge of power. Like a nexus or something."

"That might very well be, your highness" Quiser began to explain. "You see, this city is built in one of the places that the Atlantians built their major cities. In short, we conquered this site 4000 years ago. And back then, the Atlantians protected a natural power source, with…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Wyrmina cut him off. "So if we reclaim this place, we can get our hands on great power?" Quiser nodded. "Good. Then let's get conquering." They turned their attention to the city and continued the destruction.

* * *

"Finally, I can see the end of the tunnel" Joseph yelled back to his friends. While in Atlantis they had made good speed and they had soon reached the place they entered the city. After going through the portal, they had found themselves in the same cave they had previously been trapped in. The three of them had been able to climb over the rock blocking the exit and had made their way out, with Joseph in the lead. Now they were finally reaching the entrance.

"How do we get down?" Katherine asked as they arrived outside. The sun had moved way past its zenith.

"We rappel" Ben said as he beat the pole into the rock. They tied their ropes and went down. Soon, all three of them were down the cliff and began to run back towards the exit of the Mountain Park. They ran through the forest, dodging branches, avoiding rocks and trying to get to the entrance as fast as they could.

"I just thought of something" Joseph said as they ran.

"What is it?" Katherine asked panting.

"Well, if their technology is unmatched, then the ancient warriors must have had some sort of transportation, right?"

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, joining the conversation. The three of them were making good speed and were more than halfway back.

"Well, it took us nearly an hour getting here on bike" Joseph continued. "And we're using all of our strength just to get back to the entrance. How are we going to get back to Golden Springs in time?"

"I don't know" Ben said. "But for now, let's focus on getting out of here. We are almost there." The three teenagers ran all they could. The forest was getting thinner and the rocks were all but gone. Then finally, they arrived at the entrance. Running past the clerk, they grabbed their bikes and headed towards Golden Springs.

Right after crossing the first bend in the road, they heard a familiar voice. "Rangers, do you hear me?" They all stopped.

"King Haslan?" Katherine asked.

"Yes. I'm speaking to you through the morpher. We don't have much time, so listen up. We overheard your question about transportation and we found a solution. Stretch out you right hand." They all did as they were told. A soft wind was blowing in the trees. The leafs were blowing gently in the wind but the teenagers had no time to notice all this. As they stretched their arms, a small device appeared in their hands.

"What is this?" Joseph asked.

"It looks like a bike computer" Katherine said.

"Close. Those are devices to transform your mountain bikes into motorbikes. They are activated as you morph and can be called to you whenever you need them. But for now, we'll activate them remotely." The three teenagers followed some short instructions and placed the device on the bikes. All at once, the bikes transformed. The motorbikes were ordinary looking, each in their respective colour.

The three teens got on and started them without problems. Soon, they were more than halfway back at the city. "So what do we do when we get back there?" Katherine asked.

"Easy" Ben said. "We find Wyrmina and bring her in."

"I think she meant how" Joseph said.

"I don't know" Ben said. "We'll just have to see when we get there."

* * *

10 minutes later, the three teenagers arrived at the western part of the city. As they came in, they slowed and stopped. They looked around and saw all the destruction that Wyrmina had caused. Cars were trashed, houses on fire, injured people all around. Ben cleansed his fists. All the innocent people. They looked for clues to find where Wyrmina had gone. They helped a few injured people, when suddenly there was a loud explosion. They all looked in the same direction and without a word, went directly to their motorbikes and drove towards the noise.

As they came around the corner they saw three strange figures, standing a few meters away. One was small and fat. He had blue skin and wore strange clothes. The other was tall and thin and seemed scaly. But the last figure was the most terrifying. She was wearing all black, and wings sprouted on her back. They were all facing the opposite way so the teenagers quickly ducked behind the corner again.

"It's them" Ben said.

"What do we do?" Katherine asked.

"We do what we were entrusted to do. We go out there and face her. You ready?" They looked at each other. They needed not say a word. After all, they were as ready as they would ever be. They went past the corner and placed themselves with a few meters apart. Ben in the middle with Katherine to his right and Joseph to his left.

"Wyrmina!" Ben shouted and all three figures turned around.

"Who are you who dare to walk up to me like that?"

"We are the ones who let you out, and we are the ones who are going to bring you in."

"Hmph" Wyrmina snorted. "So you are here to bring me in? What a laugh." She held a small pause, playing a psychological game with the three teens. "Let's see if you can take down something as easy as my Imps!" Wyrmina shouted the last and from out of thin air, seven imps appeared. They were small of height and body, had small wings on their back, grey skin and sharp claws. The imps ran towards the rangers and they braced themselves.

As the first few arrived at Katherine, she was taken by surprise. Despite their small body, they jumped high. Katherine was surrounded and managed to only barely escape the first few blows. Katherine then launched her counter-attack, hitting one of the imps in the stomach. As it backed off, she turned towards the other imp. It came rushing at her, claws ready to swipe her. Katherine ducked in the nick of time and made a low kick which took the imp by surprise.

Meanwhile, Ben had managed to hold off three imps at once. Launching blow after blow, Ben could do nothing but dodge and counter every blow. He was locked down. No matter what he did, the imps had the advantage. Ben backed off the best he could, but soon found himself against a wall. A blow was launched towards his stomach and Ben had no choice but to evade up. He avoided the blow and the imp crushed its hand as it hit the wall. Ben landed on the imp, sending it down into the earth. He punched the next imp but was hit by the third.

At the same time, Joseph had managed to take out one of his as well. The other was now launching strike after strike, trying to bury its sharp claws in Joseph's soft flesh. He dodged the best he could but the imp was gaining on him. As he threw himself to the ground to avoid a punch and rolled to avoid the following kick, he saw remains of bricks. He ran towards them, picked up the two largest pieces and threw at the head of the charging imp. The first brick overshot its target, while the other was a direct hit. The imps head was crushed. Joseph looked around and hurried towards the other.

Katherine had done well before but she was unable to do anything against the imps now. Time after time she was hit with swipes and blows and no matter what she did, the imps had her cornered. The same was the case with Ben, who was still trying to fight of the remaining two imps. They ganged together but the imps were to powerful. Even with the help of Joseph, they were still outmatched. The remaining imps came running towards them, and in one combined attack, the rangers were knocked several feet back, up against a wall.

"What are going to do?" Katherine asked. She was brushed like the others and none of them had any energy left.

"We don't stand a chance" Joseph said.

"Yes we do" Ben said, with confidence in his voice. "We use the morphers. It's the only way." The others looked at him. They knew he was right, but still. What if the power of the morphers wasn't enough? But there wasn't time for these thoughts, so they all rose and readied themselves once more.

"Clearly you are too weak to face me" Wyrmina said. "So why not give up now? Before my imps destroys you? I could use fighters with your skills. What do you say, want to join me?"

"Not a chance" Ben said. "We still got a trick up our sleeve." He turned his attention to the others. "Ready?" They nodded and found their spheres in their pockets, the morphers already in place. They all raised their left arm into the sky, the right hanging downwards. The left arm was lowered and the right rose. As they passed each other, the sphere made contact with the morpher and the right arm was pulled back, while the left arm stretched straight out. "Ancient Powers, ready to fight!" they yelled and bend the left arm in a 90 degree angle. The right arm shot forward and slammed the sphere into the morpher.

Ben felt a tickling sensation. It spread from his wrist, where the morpher was placed. Soon his arm was tickling, then the torso, followed by the legs and the other arm. A short shimmer and his body was dressed in his ranger costume. It was red, with a white "A" on the left side of the chest. The legs had a diamond shaped white pattern. Less than a split-second later, the helmet appeared. It was red as well, with a black rectangular outlook. It provided complete anonymity. When the tickling subsided, Ben looked at his fellow rangers; they as well were dressed in similar uniforms, only yellow for Katherine and blue for Joseph.

"Power Rangers, Atlantis Knights." The Rangers were all ready to fight.

"Power Rangers?" Wyrmina said angrily. She turned to her henchmen. "I thought you said it would be months?"

"It is" Quiser said. "I don't know who these are."

"Alright guys, you ready" Ben asked. The nodded and ran towards the imps. Ben felt the power of the morpher as he delivered the first blow. The imp was knocked over. They quickly eliminated the remaining imps, and soon, only Wyrmina and her henchmen were left. The rangers stood calmly, looking straight at Wyrmina. She growled at the defeat of her imps.

"Useless" she snared. She stretched her arms in an open gesture. "Guess, I'll have to take care of you myself." Her nails grew longer and soon were more than 15 centimetres. She began to run towards the rangers who readied themselves for a blow. Her nails swiped their uniforms and the rangers were thrown to the side. Ben got up first and launched an attack against Wyrmina. He kicked high to throw her off balance, but she avoided easily and swiped him with her nails. Katherine and Joseph came to his rescue and tried to attack Wyrmina from behind. But Wyrmina was able to back flip over them and strike them in the back. They all fell to the earth, struggling to get up. "From the way you defeated my imps, I thought you would be more of a challenge" Wyrmina said as she walked closer to the rangers. "But it seems I was wrong. Now prepare to say goodbye" she said as she readied to strike.

"Rangers, do you hear me?" It was king Haslan again. Wyrmina was still coming closer when Ben asked what he wanted. "We know you are in trouble. In fact, that's why I'm calling. Each of you has a unique weapon, called knight weapons. All you have to do is call for them, and they will appear in your hands." As Wyrmina walked ever closer, Haslan hurried to tell them what to do. Just as Wyrmina was about to strike, they rolled away and got up behind her.

The Rangers stretched their hands and called for their weapons. "Red Knight Sword" Ben called. A beautiful blade in a red hilt appeared in his right hand. It wasn't heavy but the metal gave away the power of the blade. "Yellow Knight Lance" Katherine called out. A long lance appeared in her hands. It was yellow with a golden pattern and a long, sharp metal edge on the end. "Blue Knight Blades" Joseph called out. In both his hands great, long elbow blades appeared. The metal blade was big, yet efficiently curved.

"Alright!" Ben said. "Let's do this." Ben charged towards Wyrmina. Halfway there, he jumped and readied his sword. As he descended on Wyrmina he slashed with the sword, hitting her. "Hieah!" He said as he flew by. Wyrmina tried to avoid the strike, but Ben was flying too fast. Joseph and Katherine did the same and as they jumped, Katherine's lance hit Wyrmina in the stomach and Joseph's elbow blades on her chest. All three rangers landed behind Wyrmina, and on Bens mark turned around and grabbed the blaster hanging from their belt.

"Atlantis blasters, fire!" Ben yelled as they aimed towards Wyrmina. All three blasters fired a few shots at Wyrmina and sparks and explosions soon followed.

"Ugh" Wyrmina said as she landed. Her henchmen came running to her side.

"Are you alright, evil one?" Quiser asked.

"Of course I'm not alright you fool" she said. "If my power had been at their fullest these teenagers would have been no match for me. Retreat."

"Hold it right there, Wyrmina" Ben said. "You're coming with us!"

"That's what you think Rangers. I'll be back!" With this, the three of them disappeared. The teenagers were all relieved that they had made it, but they had broken their promise. Ben slammed his fist into the wall.

"They got away" he said. He was panting from after the fight. The others tried to cheer him up, but they knew that he was right. Some Rangers they turned out to be. "Power down!" Ben said and moved his hand over the morpher to turn it off.

"Rangers, are you there?" King Haslan yet again.

"What is it?" Katherine asked.

"Please come back to Atlantis right away. We have opened another gateway, much closer to you this time. It is behind the abandoned church in the north of town. Please get here as soon as you can." With this, Haslan got quiet and Katherine and Joseph turned to Ben. He went over to them without a word.

Let's go" he said silently and walked towards his mountain bike. They joined him and soon rode through the city. Wyrmina might not have been through much of the city, but she had still been able to cause a lot of devastation. The three rode north through the city and after a while arrived at the church. King Haslan had told them to go behind the church and hold the morpher in front of the wall. As they did, the morpher reacted and opened another portal, similar to the one they had been sucked through before. It was bright, but it didn't hurt the eyes looking at it while out in daylight. Nodding at each other they went through the portal.

* * *

"Don't worry, we are safe here, oh evil one" Quiser said. Quiser, Fuboon and Wyrmina had retreated to an ancient castle. It existed halfway in this world and half in another. The castle itself was dark and black. No paintings decorated the walls, no carpets concealed the cold, dark floor. Wyrmina had been more injured than she had let the Rangers know and they had had to retreat to their ancient stronghold.

"Don't!" she said and lashed out. "I don't need your concern" she said growling.

"I'm sorry, my princess" Quiser said humbly.

"Is the plan set into motion?" she asked, looking the other way.

"Yes it is" Quiser answered. "And in just five moons we will have the power to revive your father."

* * *

As they emerged in Atlantis they found themselves in the palace. It was a beautifully decorated room, yet the room gave off a feeling of being unimportant. The same guard who had brought them their morphers stood in the room, waiting for them. He greeted them shortly and asked them to come with him. They were guided through the castle into the throne room. They kneeled before King Haslan and he spoke.

"Rangers" he said, looking at them in turn. Pride was in his eyes but the rangers couldn't see it, their heads were hanging towards the ground. "You did well today."

"But we let her escape" Ben said. "We failed you."

"You failed no one" King Haslan said reassuringly. "No one could have expected you to bring her in on your first day. Besides, the ancient rangers were five, you are only three. How should you have been able to defeat her? You scared her away but she will be back." He looked at them intensely and they looked up at him. "Now the question remains: Will you take it upon your shoulders, to use this power to defeat Wyrmina and her demons, help free the city and bring back peace. It is your own choice and no one will blame you for saying no."

"We'll stay" Ben said. "We promised that we would use these powers to bring her back and that's what we are going to do."

"And you agree?" Haslan said, looking at Joseph and Katherine. They nodded. "Fine then."

"But what about the last two morphers?" Katherine asked.

"If the time comes and you will need the extra power, we will find some who can use them. But for now, you are on your own. We will monitor the city and let you know whenever Wyrmina decides to attack again."

Ben nodded at him. "Thanks." Haslan smiled. Ben put out his hand, Joseph and Katherine followed suit when they understood what he meant. Haslan looked at them strangely. "Come on, do it" Ben said. Haslan looked puzzled but put his hand on top of them. They lowered their hands and raised them in the air, shouting "Power Rangers!"

* * *

Note: I know the Atlantian language is Spanish, but it was simply to have a language that the teens didn't understand. I hope you liked the story (and the lyrics) and if you please, drop me a line of your thoughts by pressing the little green box. It's your choice whether to do it or not though.

Edit the 27-11-2008: I've changed Joseph's power from talking to animals to withstand cold. Let's face it, who would ever need to ask an animal about anything, and the whole withstandsing cold thing simply goes so well with a change in the future storyline I came up with yesterday. I apologize for any inconvinience it may or may not have been.


	2. Chapter 2: The Showdown With Golzor

Welcome to chapter two of my epic (ok, maybe not epic) tale of the Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights. I'm not going to spoil anything before you've read the story. One thing though, as long as I don't hear otherwise, the lyrics are staying.

* * *

Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights.

Power Rangers. Atlantis! (5 sec melody)

Ancient powers with ancient ways.

Coming to our world today.

Powers of Water, Power Unite.

Come and face this evil tonight. (4 sec pause)

Ancient evils awaken anew.

Only you can stop their crew.

Heroes come to save the day.

Power Rangers come our way. (4 sec pause.)

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Atlantis Knights… GO!

**Chapter 2: The Showdown with Golzor.**

"What a great day" Ben thought as he rode down Spring Street. The sun was shining on a clear blue sky. The grass was still holding on to the last few drops of dew which the sun tried to dry. The birds that flew from tree to tree, searching for food, were chipping merely. Ben turned a corner and continued towards the high-school. It would take another five minutes to reach it. The high school was conveniently centred in the middle of the city, making it easily accessible from any direction. As Ben turned yet another corner, he caught a glimpse of one of the posters that had been hung up after Wyrmina's attack the other day. People were asking for help to clean up the streets, organize food, distribution and more. Benjamin, Kathy and Joseph had helped the last few days, being indirectly responsible for the attack.

Ben turned another corner. He looked at his watch to check the time. 8:40 am. "Great" he thought. He had plenty of time. He began to speed up, his red t-shirt blowing in the wind. He was glad he was wearing shorts; anything longer would have been too hot.

Finally, Benjamin arrived at the high-school. It was a three story building with red bricks and a black roof. It seemed to consist of a large main building, with several smaller wings stretching out from the main body. Several students were sitting on the benches outside campus, and many more were going both in and out of the main building. Ben parked his bike, locked it and went inside the building. The interior halls consisted of multiple lockers, white walls, broad staircases which connected the levels, paintings and doors, leading into different classrooms.

Ben joined the group of freshmen students and looked for Kathy and Joseph. He found Kathy pretty quick. Katherine told him that Joseph hadn't shown up yet, but he would be there. As they waited for Joseph, the clock crept closer and closer to 9. Just a few minutes before 9, Joseph entered the hallway. Benjamin waved him over and Joseph joined them.

"Hey man, you made it" Benjamin said as he and Joseph clasped their hands together.

"Wouldn't miss it" Joseph said. He greeted Kathy and they started small talking. Joseph said he had been late, because of his brother. He had been troublesome that morning and Joseph had been given the task of making him calm down. It almost made him miss school start.

Then the bell stroke 9. Everyone quieted down as the principal of the school entered the hallway. He asked them to follow him and lead them through another few hallways, before finally arriving at a big hall. As they entered, Ben, Kathy and Joseph noticed the older students at the edge of the room. Apparently, they knew this would happen. The freshmen all gathered in the middle of the room, while the principal climbed a speaking chair.

"Dear students" the principal started and everyone quieted down. The principal was a short man with an even shorter temper. His hair was white and was clearly not styled in anyway; hair stood out in every direction. He had a white moustache and wore a dark suit. "When I look down in the crowd, I see a lot of new faces and even more old ones" the principal continued as he looked around.

"This year will be home to a lot of changes. Firstly, we have a few new teachers in our staff, which will be taking over some of the freshmen classes. We are in negotiations with the city council to extend our high school. The last I'll make public, is about the youth centre. All students showing student id badges gain a 20 discount on training, drinks, food, anything. Other changes will be made apparent for the second and third years later on, while you freshmen won't know a thing. But I have taken up enough of you time already. I'll ask the older students to leave for class, while all freshmen stay here. The teachers assigned to each class will stay as well."

The principal's speech done, the older students left the area. They seemed to know exactly where to go, some when east, others west; some up the stairs, others back the way the freshmen had just gotten in through. When all of them were gone, the remaining teachers lined up behind the speaking chair.

"With the old students out of the way" the principal continued, not without a smile on his lips, "let's focus on what's important: you and your new classes. I'll read up names in alphabetic order and tell you which teacher to go to. The one right most of me is in charge of class 1A, the one next to him is with 1B and so forth." The principal then began to read out names. The three friends waited for him to get to their names, and began to small talk.

"I hope we'll be in the same class" Joseph said optimistically.

"Let's hope so" Benjamin answered.

"I'll be glad as long as I'm not stock with some stopped-up girls" Katherine said and they all burst into laughter.

It didn't take long for the principal to get to H and soon the principal said "Harrison, Benjamin. Class 1C" and then moved on. "See you guys" Ben said as he walked towards the teacher standing on the right side of the principal. His mind razed with anticipation. Would his friends get to go in the same class?

"avis. Class 1E." Ben's mind had been so occupied that he had forgotten to listen after the names. Settling his mind, he greeted the ones already at the teacher; meeting his new class mates. "McKinley, Joseph. Class 1B."

"Too bad man" Kathy said as Joseph began to walk.

"Yeah, I guess" Joseph shrugged. Kathy smiled and shook her head. Joseph was disappointed, for sure, but there was no way he was letting anyone know. All Kathy could do now, was wait until her name came up.

As the principal neared the end of the list, fewer and fewer students remained on the floor. After what felt like forever to Katherine, he got to her name. "Wilson, Katherine. Class 1F." Katherine left for the teacher standing leftmost of the principal. Another name and another student found his place. And then the last one. Once all the students had been assigned, the principal turned around.

"And now, if the teachers will be so kind as to show their students to their classes, we can all get started on a brand new school year." Everyone applauded. Both teachers and students. It lasted for only a few seconds, but it was quite enough. The principal had raised his hand, they had applauded enough. The teachers asked their students to follow them and led them towards their first class.

* * *

It was storming. The wind blew furiously as cracks of lightning tore through the sky. It never rained during a storm like this; it hadn't done so for thousands of years. Wyrmina walked through the hallways of her ancient castle, a castle that had once been the greatest fortress of evil to exist. The castle was positioned in the middle of a barren waste, halfway in our dimension, halfway into another. Wyrmina's steps grew louder and louder as she walked through the castle, trying to find Fuboon and Quiser. So far, she had been without luck.

Wyrmina stopped after turning around another corner. "If I can't find them like this" she said and began to transform. As soon as her senses had honed enough, she began to search for them again, this time picking up their scent. She raced through the barren hallways of her castle, ignoring empty walls and rooms. She was quickly led to them and stopped before turning around the last corner. Here, she transformed herself back to her more human look and walked around the corner. She hated her wyvern form, but if that was what it took, so be it.

"Where have you two been?" she asked in an angry voice. Her sudden appearance and shouting surprised her henchmen who, fumbling, answered her.

"Right here all day, your highness" Quiser said, bowing down.

Wyrmina stared at both of them, her stare filled with hate. She snarled: "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"About what?" Fuboon asked, holding his chummy blue hands on his thick head, as if to seek refuge there.

"About why you haven't come up with a plan to destroy the Rangers yet" she yelled at them and slapped Fuboon. The blow itself was weak, but Fuboon was still knocked over. She turned to face Quiser who replied in a hurry.

"We were just working on one as you came in" Quiser said in his most pleasing voice.

"We were?" Fuboon asked curious. His reward was a swift kick by Quiser.

"Yes, and a brilliant one at that" Quiser hurried to add. Wyrmina still looked displeased, but Quiser continued. "We have almost found a way to unlock the seal that binds the demon warriors from ancient times. Once we can unlock it, we can bring back the warriors, and then they will destroy the Rangers."

"Hmm" Wyrmina said. "Who knows? That might just work." She turned to leave and Quiser gave a little sigh. "But" she added, making Quiser tense again. "I expect the plan to be ready later today."

"Yes, my princess" Quiser said and Wyrmina left.

* * *

"Now before you leave" the teacher said, "make sure to get a copy of the text. We will discuss its contents tomorrow, alright. Now, go" he said with a smile. The students packed their backs and grabbed a piece of paper as they left the classroom. As Ben walked by, he too, grabbed a sheet. Ben went through the double doors and stopped on the other side of the hallway. He looked at the paper. It was an article about Wyrmina's attack on the city less than a week ago. He gave a quick smile and stuffed it in his bag.

"Now what" he thought. He had agreed to meet Kathy and Joseph for lunch in the school cantina, but since his first class had let out early, he found himself with ample time. He decided to head for the office, he had a locker key waiting for him. The way to the office was uneventful, with the exception of having to ask an older student for directions a single time. The hallways which he walked were painted yellowish, with red panels. Every now and then, paintings, photographs and sculptures decorated the walls; windows were placed with regular intervals.

The office was located near the main hall and so were the lockers. The bell was about to ring and several classes had ended premature. Benjamin entered the office and waited for a secretary to have time. He didn't wait long. In less than 5 seconds he was met with a smiling woman.

"What can I help you with?" she asked smiling a soft smile. Apparently, it was something they had learned; there was no feeling in the smile.

"Uhh, I have a locker key to pick up" Ben said. The secretary asked him to wait a moment and left the counter. She came back soon, carrying a box in her hands. She placed it in front of him and asked for his name. "Benjamin Harrison" Ben replied. The woman searched through the box, found his name and gave him the key which was connected to his name tag. "Thanks" Ben said as he left.

As the doors closed behind him, Ben breathed lightly. "Now that's something I don't want to do again" he said quietly and looked at the key. "Locker A87" Ben read. Ben placed the key in his keychain with his private keys and started looking. Just before the main hall, a large area was covered in lockers. It looked like a niche, only bigger. On each line of lockers was a sign, telling which lockers were where. But as Ben soon discovered, he could have saved himself the trouble reading the signs. It was the "Locker B" group.

Ben laughed at his mistake and crossed the back end of the main hall, entering another wing. Here he found the "Locker A" group and began to search for number 87. He found it and opened up. The locker was small, but it would be big enough to story any and all books. Ben stored the books he wouldn't need and was about to close the locker when he heard a voice behind him.

"I thought I heard your name back then." The voice was familiar and Ben turned around with a smile. In front of him was a young black man with white teeth. His green shirt matched his green eyes.

"Hey Travis" Ben said as he clasped hands with the man. "What are you doing here?" Ben asked, knowing the answer already.

"What do you think bro?" Travis replied with a smile. "I'm studying."

"That would be a change" Benjamin said and both of them burst into laughter. Still laughing, Ben turned around and locked up his locker. Tucking the key back in his pocket, he continued their conversation. "How was your vacation?" he asked, stepping aside so another student could get to her locker.

"The usual" Travis replied, placing a book in his newly opened locker. "Training, relaxing, cooking. Quite regular. And you?" Travis finished, locking up the locker.

"Can't complain" Ben answered and they began to move towards the main hall. "A shame you couldn't go mountain climbing with me."

"Yeah, bummer" Travis said. "Was it great?"

"Oh yeah!" Ben said half laughing, his blue eyes complimenting the smile on his lips. Once he managed to calm down he began again. "Are you busy later today?"

"Not really, why?" Travis asked.

"Remember my friends you met before the vacation?" Travis nodded. "Well, we have decided to check out the new youth centre. Would you like to come with us?"

"Sure. 2pm?"

"Alright, we'll meet you there. See ya" Ben said and they parted ways. "Now to find the cantina" Ben thought. He asked an older student as he walked by and was guided in the right direction. Ben went through another hallway and came into a smaller area. It wasn't the cantina that much was obvious. It looked more like a recreational area, in which one could relax between classes. Looking around, Ben noticed that only a few students were here.

He was about to leave, convinced that he had made a wrong turn, when he heard voices coming from an opposing hallway. He stayed and was about to burst into laughter as he saw the group. The group consisted only of girls and all of them dressed in fashion brands. They acted like they owned the entire high school and Ben thought that this was exactly what Katherine wouldn't want to be like.

"… is just SO last season."

"Yes. And those shoes…"

"And look at her…"

The girls babbled on and on. Ben turned to leave again and was about to walk away, when one of the girls said something that shook him.

"What do you think, Katherine?"

Ben turned around and stared. There in the middle of the group was Katherine. She looked bored and kind of sad in Benjamin's eyes. Her left arm was hanging down weakly, seemingly held in place only by her right arm's faint grasp. Her gold-blond hair hang lazily down her yellow striped shirt; her gaze dreaming of distant places. The first girl asked her again and Katherine snapped out of it.

"Uh… yeah, sure" she said, not having heard the question at all. The leading girl didn't pay it any concern and continued her monologue. Kathy returned to her catatonic-like state when Ben decided to wake her up.

"Hey Katherine" Ben said. Katherine jerked her head towards the sound and saw Ben smiling.

"Ben" she said surprised. The other girls frowned at Ben for interrupting them.

"Are you busy?" Ben asked, hardly concealing the smile on his lips. "Because if you are, I can come back later so I won't interrupt anything."

Before Katherine had a chance to answer, the girls started off. "Please, Katherine" the leading girl said, almost sighing the first syllable. "Don't tell me you hang out with his kind."

Katherine took a deep breath and turned around. "Yes, I do" she said. Katherine turned around again, grabbed Benjamin's arm and pulled him away, down the hallway, through a myriad of students. "Thanks for the rescue" Katherine said as soon as they turned a corner. They were in an intersection, connecting several hallways with each other.

"No problem" Ben replied. "But why were you hanging out with them?" Ben asked curiously. He knew that Katherine didn't like showing off her family's wealth, the fact that she had paid the entry fee to the mountain park had made him wonder.

"Well…" Katherine started. "Apparently they learned that my family have a lot of money, and even though I don't dress and act like it, they enrolled me in their little "money-club" thing." Katherine ended in a sigh and leaned up against the wall. Students were passing through the intersection, most of them in groups. Some were headed for the cafeteria, others for the field outdoor.

"I see" Ben said, offering his sympathy. Not that it would do her much good. Besides, Katherine knew he was half-way joking. Breaking the silence Ben asked her if she had seen Joseph anywhere on their tour-de-high-school.

"No" Katherine replied. "I haven't seen him since this morning."

"That's weird" Ben said. "Oh well. I'll try and find him."

"I'll go with you" Katherine said, pushing herself away from the wall. "Knowing Joseph, he should be at the cantina or somewhere close by."

Ben laughed. "You're right" he said smiling. They began to make their way through the intersection. Reaching the end of the small hallway, they turned right at a corner and left as they reached the next. The walls here were identical to those of the rest of the school. Yellow walls, red foot panels and gray floor. Once in a while, a window or painting would break the boredom that the bare walls gave off. Ben and Katherine turned a corner and saw Joseph further down a hallway. He was placing something in his locker and Ben and Katherine began to walk towards him.

"Well, well, well. Who have we here?" a voice said from behind Joseph. Joseph turned to look, but he couldn't see anyone. Suddenly a large fist, followed by a larger arm, banged into a locker next to Joseph. Joseph jerked and turned around. In front of him was a large boy Joseph knew only too well. "If it isn't little Joseph" the boy said in a mocking voice.

"Frantz" he said, partially scared, partially surprised. "Wh-what are you d-doing here?" Joseph asked, sweating nervously.

"What do you think I want?" Frantz said, still using the mocking tone. "I want what I've always wanted." Frantz moved his head closer to Joseph. "If I say jump, you jump. If I say run, you run." His lips were almost at Joseph's ears by now. "And if I say you do my homework, you o my homework. You get that?!" Frantz asked. Joseph sank and was about to answer, when a hand grabbed hold of Frantz' shoulder.

"And if I say you leave him alone, you leave him alone" Ben's voice sounded from behind. Frantz jerked his shoulder free and turned around. He stared right at Ben who stared right back. Lightning seemed to shoot out of the boys' eyes.

"Hmpf" Frantz grunted and turned to leave. "You count yourself lucky, Joseph" he said as he walked by. "Next time, your friends might not be there." With this, Frantz left the scene. Katherine and Ben stepped closer to Joseph. His blue t-shirt was visibly damp with sweat.

"Why are you letting him bully you around like that?" Katherine asked, keeping a straight lookout at Frantz, making sure he didn't come back.

Joseph locked his locker and leaned his back against it. "I don't know" Joseph said.

"You just got to stand up to him" Benjamin said. "Show him that you won't take it anymore."

"That's easy for you to say" Joseph said and moved himself from the wall so another student could access his locker. The three of them walked slowly down the hallway. Ben looked at his watch and was surprised to see that it was only a quarter since his class had let out.

"On to more happy thoughts" Ben said and turned around to look at the others, walking backwards down the hall. "Are we still going to meet at the new Youth Centre?" he looked at each of his friends as he talked, waiting for their reply.

"I guess" Joseph said, already cheered a bit up by the thought.

"Sure" Katherine said.

"Alright, so we'll meet there, after school?" Ben asked, still switching his eyes between his friends. They nodded and the three friends finally entered the cantina, treating themselves to a nice lunch.

* * *

"Your time is up" Wyrmina said as she turned around the corner and faced Quiser and Fuboon. They were in the same room as they had been when Wyrmina had seen them last. Back then she had given them a few hours to find a way to break the seal. Now they had better have a plan of how to do it. Fuboon quivered with fear as Wyrmina slowly stepped forward, her long legs seemingly taking even longer steps. Quiser seemed calmer and bowed. "Have you come up with a way to break the seal?" Wyrmina glared at both of them.

"Yes, your highness" Quiser said, still bowing. Then he stretched and stood rank. "If you would come with me, my princess" he said and began to walk towards a table in the middle of the room. On the table were a myriad of papers. Wyrmina reached the table.

"What is this?" Wyrmina demanded to know.

"Easy, my princess" Quiser said in a calm voice, trying to subdue her. "If you will allow me to explain. As you know, almost all demons where sealed away in the final battle four millennia ago. They were sealed in a small pocket dimension, which later was placed in the inner depths of the earth."

"Skip the history lesson" Wyrmina said snarling. "I know that." A fire seemed to burn in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Quiser asked. "I mean, it might…"

"SHUT UP!" Wyrmina shouted at him, the fire in her eyes now ablaze. Wyrmina hissed at him with a long, twin edged tongue. Quiser quivered in fear. He now knew he had angered her, why else would she resort to using her Wyvern powers? Quiser sank and waited until Wyrmina calmed down again. "Now tell me" she started again. "How… are you… going… to break the seal?" Wyrmina talked slowly. Even a partial transformation required power, and this was a way to hide her exhaustion.

"By using the same power that will inevitably free your father. That power grows by the moons and in five moons we will be able to resurrect your father. But we cannot just use this power as we please. We need to aim it at the pocket dimension, which we have been able to locate."

Wyrmina grabbed Quiser at the throat. "But how are you going to unseal it?!" she shouted into Quiser's face.

"By using the incantation on the table" Quiser managed to say. Wyrmina dropped him and looked at the table again. Amongst all the papers was a spell. "If we use it, we can bring back one demon at a time. However, the incantation has its limits. If we use it to much, we will collapse the dimension, destroying any and all demons within."

"Can we retrieve anyone now?" Wyrmina asked, dropping the paper on the table.

"We should be able to, but it will take a little time to prepare the spell." Wyrmina looked at Quiser, her eyes giving him an evil stare.

"See to it" Wyrmina said and turned to leave the room. As the passed by Fuboon, she noticed he was still catatonically quivering with fear. "What an idiot" she thought as she passed him by. Wyrmina proceeded through the hallways and turned corners. Everywhere she went, the castle seemed at the edge of collapse. Bricks were missing; sections of walls were supported by pillar-like objects. The purple velvet carpet was all but thorn to pieces by centuries of exposure to the elements. Outside, the lightning storm continued as fierce as ever.

Wyrmina made her way toward a tower located in the eastern part of the castle. It was a tall tower, with some of the roof missing. As Wyrmina moved across the courtyard, she noticed the gargoyles atop the tower. There were six in all, positioned with an equal distance between them. They were made like traditional gargoyles in most aspects. But these gargoyles were magical in nature. They were the storage of the energy needed to break the seal. Wyrmina entered the tower and climbed the stairs.

Once at the top, she looked out at each gargoyle. All but one was sitting on their hind legs, supported by their arms. The proportions were about the same as that of the average human. The gargoyles wings were folded tightly on their backs; their heads keeping a vigilant guard of anything in view. The final one was standing on its hind legs, wings spread out, arms in a V-shape in front of the body, the head as vigilant as ever.

"One of the Gargoyles have been filled" Wyrmina thought. "Only five remains and they will fill in the next five moons."

* * *

Ben raised his leg and kicked after Travis. Travis bended back and avoided the blow. Before getting up, he grabbed Benjamin's leg and twisted. Benjamin jumped and spun around, kicking his leg free again. Benjamin landed on his feet, bend down in his knees. Travis stumbled backwards a few feet but quickly regained his balance. The two combatants looked at each other, sweat running down their foreheads. Benjamin crossed his arms in front of him, after which he moved the right arm to his side and let the left stay in front. Travis mimicked his movements, standing like a mirror image of Ben.

Travis and Ben had been going at it for the past 10 minutes and were breathing heavily. Before making his next move, Ben remembered why they were already fighting. Joseph and Katherine were not out of class until a little later, so Benjamin had gone to the Youth Centre ahead of them. As he had first looked inside the centre, he was surprised by the size. The room seemed to be split in two. In one half, there was a bar of sorts with several tables in near vicinity. There was a karaoke machine, some slot-machines, a small television hang above the bar, running on the local-news-channel.

The bar itself consisted of a long desk that was about 1.30 meters. The desk was light-blue, with yellow walls. Above the bar, on either side of the television, were glasses and bottles of different drinks. As Benjamin examined them closer, he realized they were non-alcoholic. The tables were typical bar-tables, having only one, big leg each. Same went for the chairs.

The other side of the room was a sport area. A lot of different and versatile machines and tools were present. By the wall across the room were training machines, some already occupied. In the middle of the section were training-mats, providing a great space for martial arts of any kind. Sandbags were also present, as were climbing ropes. The training part of the room was lowered with almost a meter, with a set of stairs leading up and down on each side of a long rail.

Ben had set only a few steps into the room, before seeing Travis. He headed over to Travis' table and sat down for a few minutes. They talked before agreeing to try out the mats and spar a bit. And that was what had brought them there. Sweating, panting exhausted.

"Ready for the final clash?" Ben asked across his gasping.

"Bring it on" Travis said, readying himself. Both their bodies were already sore from the many blows, but they both insisted on going on. Ben ran towards Travis and launched a circle kick. Travis blocked the attack with his left arm, grinding his teeth at the impact. Before Ben had a chance to do anything, Travis punched for his chest. The blow went straight in and Ben stumbled back. Travis followed up by quickly stepping towards Ben and kicked him in the chest. Ben stumbled further backwards. Travis tried again but Ben had seen the attack this time.

Instead of fighting the stumbling, he took a longer step back, giving him a moment to regain his composure. Ben then closed in sideways and gave Travis a trust with his elbow, placing the left hand on his right to push with more power. Travis stumbled back and they looked at each other, a small grin on their faces.

"It's been a long time since we had a good fight" Benjamin said, wiping sweat of his forehead.

"Sure has" Travis agreed. They circled around each other for a few moments. "Have you been practising during the summer?"

"A little every now and then" Ben said, remembering the fight against Wyrmina and her Imps. If that hadn't been a fight he wouldn't know what a fight was. "And you?"

Getting his breathing under control, Travis answered: "Two times at the Gym every week." Ben nodded and soon they were at it again. Benjamin kicked but Travis easily countered the blow with his own leg. He then made a counter attack with his right arm which Benjamin blocked.

"There really going at it, aren't they?" the barkeep asked behind Joseph and Katherine. Their classes had let out sooner than expected and they had made their way to the Youth Centre. They had seen Travis and 

Benjamin train and sat at a nearby table. Apparently, none of the fighters had seen them as they just kept on going.

"They sure are" Joseph replied. Katherine nodded in agreement.

"So much like some kids I knew once" the bartender said with a small smile. "Do you know them?"

"We know one of them" Katherine said. "The one in the red t-shirt is Benjamin. I think the other is a friend of his, but I don't remember his name. I think they know each other through the karate club.

The bartender smiled for himself, amused by an inner thought. Then he turned his attention back to his costumers. "What can I get you two?" Joseph and Katherine looked up at the bartender. He was a middle aged man, with a soft, round face. He was a little smaller than the teenagers, but his large tummy made up for it. Joseph ordered a milkshake, Katherine a juice. They ordered for the two combatants as well. The barkeeper returned to the bar to mix their drinks and Katherine and Joseph turned their attention back towards Benjamin and Travis.

Travis jumped into the air, kicking at Benjamin's head. Ben had no choice but to defend with his arms and paid the prize when Travis landed. Travis raised an arm and aimed for Ben's stomach the instant his feet touched the ground. Ben was barely able to defend against the blow and tried to sidestep the next. But both of them were getting tired and their blows sloppy. Travis attacked but missed. Ben took advantage and tried to bring him down. In less than five seconds were both Benjamin and Travis rolling around on the ground, panting for air.

Ben struggled to get up and finally got to his feet. He helped Travis up and together they walked over to their table. Halfway up the stairs, Benjamin was surprised to see his friends sitting at their table. The two of them made their way across the floor and finally sat together with Joseph and Katherine. Before they had a chance to say anything, the bartender returned with their drinks.

"That was some match" the bartender said while handing out their drinks. "The last time I saw anything like that was… a long time ago." Ben and Travis just smiled, still catching their breath.

"So…" Katherine said when the bartender had left. "Who of you guys won the match?" She looked at Ben, then at Travis, with an innocent look, yet her voice held subtle tones of irony.

"I did" Travis said.

"No way" Ben said laughing. "I busted your ass."

"I got busted?" Travis said, making faces at Benjamin. "Who was the one falling over your own legs?" they all laughed, they simply couldn't help it.

"Seriously though" Joseph said when they were done. "How about a re-introduction?"

"Sure" Ben said and sat up right. "Travis, this is my friends; Joseph and Katherine. Joseph, Katherine, this is my friend Travis." As Ben introduced them, he pointed at them in turn. Ben sipped at his milkshake, letting the cold liquid cool down his throat. They began to talk, passing time and have fun.

* * *

"The spell is ready, Princess" Quiser said as Wyrmina stood in front of him. "We are ready to retrieve the first demon."

Wyrmina was standing in the very room that Quiser and Fuboon had been hiding in all day. Fuboon was no longer catatonic; the fool had actually managed to begin to move again. Wyrmina looked at Quiser, her body stature and facial expressions telling him all he needed to know. Quiser turned around and bowed over a cauldron. Wyrmina had no desire to know what was brewing in it. Quiser uttered one sentence after another, all in the language of the Atlantians.

"Las bebidas espirituosas del otro lado, parecen esta gran divisoria. Venido a nosotros, te llamamos cerca. Venir a nosotros y colocar aqui."

At first nothing happened. All was quiet, except for the wind howling outside the castle. Everyone stood completely still, waiting for something to happen.

"It's not working!" shouted Wyrmina after a minute.

"Maybe the spell is broken?" Fuboon said, resulting in an electrical blast from the tip of Wyrmina's fingers, pointed his direction.

As Fuboon fell to the floor Wyrmina turned to face Quiser. Her mouth was twisted in a snarl, her eyes squished together. Quiser tried to act calm, but his face revealed his worry. Both about the spell, but also for his own safety. "Why… isn't it… working?" Wyrmina asked, forcing a calmness upon herself. She breathed heavily between the words and Quiser knew that he would have only one chance to redeem himself.

"If I may" he said and turned to consult his papers. He searched frantically through them for a few seconds until he found what he was looking for. "Here it is" he said showing Wyrmina another sheet of paper. Wyrmina wrinkled a brow and Quiser explained before she asked the question. "I had overlooked something in my hurry to finish" he began. "I seems as there is another spell that must be cast first. Before we can actually retrieve the demons. It will only take a minute to find the incantation." Quiser began to look through his papers again, cursing himself for being so stupid. At first he searched through the papers on the table slowly, then, as he grew more frustrated, he began to throw away the checked papers.

"Where is it?" he shouted. Looking frantically. Wyrmina smiled a sadistic smile and raised her fingertips.

"Is it this paper?" Fuboon asked, holding up a sheet of paper with writing scribbled all over it. Quiser nearly ran over to him and snapped it out of his hands.

"WHY do you have this?" he asked Fuboon in an angry tone.

"You said that the paper was important, so I thought "Hey, why not take care of it for him. That might make him happy" so I took the paper and held on to it. I didn't mean to…" Fuboon was cut off by another electrical blast. As he fell to the ground again, Quiser turned around frustrated.

"Why waste a good charge?" Wyrmina said with the same sadistic smile as before. Quiser bit his tongue, trying to restrain himself. "Now, GET IT DONE!" Wyrmina shouted and Quiser went back to work. As he turned around and stood before his cauldron, Quiser began to utter another spell, to silent for Wyrmina to hear. When his mumbling began, everything was quiet. Only the howling wind outside the castle was heard. Wyrmina held her breath; as did Fuboon. As his mumbling neared the end, a rumble began, soon shaking the castle at its core.

"What's happening?" Fuboon asked terrified with his thick voice. The castle was shaking so much, that none of them were able to stand on their feet without holding on to something. Finally, Quiser's spell ended. The castle stopped shaking and everyone got on their feet.

"Did it work?" Wyrmina asked, demanding an answer. She looked at Quiser who was replacing the sheet with another spell, the spell to retrieve a demon. He looked at her, his expression telling that they would only know if they tried the spell again. Quiser began to cast the spell again, uttering the same phrase as before. As the incantation neared its completion, a bright purple light began to shine in the middle of the room. When Quiser finished the spell, a small purple hole seemed to hover in the middle of the room. The hole allowed Wyrmina to peek into the other dimension and select the demon she wanted.

It didn't take long for Wyrmina to find the demon she wanted. Wyrmina turned around and asked how they would retrieve the demons. Quiser told her that she needed only to shout the demons name and it would come out of the void. Wyrmina smiled and turned around. She proceeded to yell the name of the demon. The light shone brighter and began to pulsate. In a few seconds, the demon was released and stood tall before her.

"My princess" the demon said and kneeled before her, crossing his right arm across his chest. "What can I do to serve you?" Wyrmina smiled and ordered him to take some Imps with him to Golden Springs.

* * *

Back at the Youth Centre, all four teenagers were still sitting and talking. They had just finished their drinks and were now talking about the High-School. They were sharing classes and comparing schedules, when the barkeep interrupted them, asking if they wanted anything else. The youths declined the offer and went back to talking.

"That's nothing compared to my teacher" Travis said, stretching his arms above him. "He wants on to bring an article to school tomorrow. And it can't just be any article. It has to have some sort of relevance for Golden Springs."

"Do you have any ideas?" Katherine asked curious.

"Not as such, no" Travis asked. "So I'll be looking through magazines when I get home." Travis rolled his eyes, and Joseph and Ben couldn't help but laugh.

"Guess I'm the lucky one then" Joseph said when he was done laughing. "Because our teacher said that for tomorrow, all we had to do was prepare a little presentation of ourselves."

"Then that will be a very small presentation" Ben said and everyone burst into laughter.

"Funny" Joseph said in an ironic tone, wearing a matching smile. "I'll let you know that..." Ethan was interrupted by a single beep. At first, he was as confused as the other three but when the next beep sounded, Benjamin, Katherine and Joseph all knew what it meant.

In a hurry they got up and grabbed their bags. "What's going on?" Travis asked as he rose slowly.

"Umm" Ben started off, stopped and then began anew. "We have this... thing... that we have to do, and we completely lost track of time, and the alarm reminded us that we had to go... We would really love to stay, but we have to go." Ben hurried towards the door, shouting a "see you" on the way. Katherine and Joseph were already at the door and as Ben reached them they turned right and were out of sight.

The bartender approached Travis again. "They just left, huh?"

"Yeah" Travis said slowly. "Without any reason, really."

The bartender shook his head again and said silently: "Just like the kids back home..."

As Benjamin and the others turned right at the door, they ran towards the door. Once outside, the three teenagers made their way around to one of the sides of the building. They couldn't risk being seen. Joseph checked the area, while Katherine stood guard at the corner. When they were sure no one was nearby, they grouped together and Ben activated the communication system in the morpher. "This is Ben" he said. "We hear you. What's up?"

"Trouble is what's up" Haslan's voice sounded through the morpher. It had been almost a week since they had heard from the King of Atlantis. Though he had only been there a few times, Ben could easily recall the majestic appearance of the castle, not to mention Haslan himself.

"What do you mean?" Katherine's voice interrupted Ben's thoughts.

"That Wyrmina has sent a demon to Golden Springs. It is in the..."

"Say, what?" Joseph interrupted him. "Didn't you say that you sealed all the demons in another dimension?"

"Yes, we did" Haslan said through the morpher. "But Wyrmina and her gang must have found a way to remove the seal."

"So what do we do?" Ben asked seriously.

"You find the demon" the answer sounded. "We traced it to a city block east of your position. Think you can handle it?"

"We'll take it from here" Ben said and ended communication. He looked at the others in turn. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready" Joseph replied.

"Let's do this" Katherine said.

The three teenagers lined up, backs against the wall. They raised their left arm, the right hanging down on their right side. "Atlantis Gem!" they all shouted and a small gem appeared in their idle, right hand. All as one, they raised their right arm and lowered their left, shouting "Ancient Powers." As the sphere passed the morpher, they retracted their right arm. "Ready to fight." Another shout as they moved their right arm towards their morpher and the Gem merged with the morpher.

A bright light enveloped their bodies. It soon subsided, revealing their Ranger suits, consisting of their Ranger colour, with a white "A" on the left side of the chest. On the legs were diamond shaped white patterns. Less than a split-second later, the helmet appeared. It was red as well, with a black rectangular outlook. As soon as they were ready, they called for their motorbikes.

"Haslan said east, right" Ben said looking at his friends. "So let's go!" They started their bikes and drove away from the youth centre. Turning left, they headed east down the road, avoiding the cars on the way.

It didn't take long for the Rangers to reach the city block where the demon was. The demon was facing the opposite direction, busy destroying everything in its path. The Rangers parked and got of their bikes.

"Hold it right there!" Ben shouted.

The demon turned around. His dark armour shone brilliantly in the afternoon sun with strings of gold playing vividly with the sun. The sharp edges on his armour cutting through the air. His dark, metal boots made his steps heavy as he walked towards the Rangers. "And who are going to stop me?" the demon asked through his helmet. His voice has distorted and his eyes shone red as he looked at them.

"We are" Ben said.

"You and what power?" the demon taunted them.

The Rangers readied themselves. "Ancient Powers, ready to fight" they said as they got in position. "Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights!" The three Rangers were ready to fight the demon.

"Fight this!" the demon shouted, where after he commanded the Imps towards the Rangers. The Rangers engaged the Imps head on. Ben punched at the first Imp who dodged the blow. Its small arm stretched to hit Ben and Ben had to step back. He kicked the Imp into the air and made a circle kick. The Imp flew away, hitting another on its collision course. Ben used the few seconds he had gained to regain his balance and readied himself.

Meanwhile, Katherine had her share of Imps. She was up against three Imps and they were gaining on her. Katherine dodged blow after blow but she was running out of room. As another blow was coming in, 

Katherine had no choice but to step back, which resulted in her bumping into a car. Katherine barely saw the next attack, but managed to defend herself with her left arm. A kick came from one of the other Imps which Katherine blocked with her knee. In an effort to break free, Katherine pushed the Imps away, back flipped to land upon the car and drew her blaster. She aimed at the first and shot once, moved the aim to another and shot twice. Putting the blaster back in its socket, Katherine jumped off the car and began to fight the remaining Imp.

During Katherine's stunt, Joseph had managed to take out a few Imps as well. Now he was fighting the last one. He raised an arm to protect from the blow and counter attacked with a kick but was blocked by the Imp's arm. Joseph pushed it away and regained his balance. Joseph started another offensive, throwing punches and kicks after the creature. But the little Imp was quicker and avoided all of the attacks. As it jumped around, it kicked off a wall and kicked Joseph sideways. He slid across the road and the Imp jumped towards him. But Joseph pulled out his blaster and took out the last.

All Imps defeated, the three Rangers re-united a few meters away from the demon. "Not bad, Rangers" the demon said. "But let's see how well you fare against the mighty Golzor!" The Rangers braced themselves as Golzor launched his attack. He ran towards them, when he suddenly became a flash of gold which flew past the Rangers, causing explosions in the process. The Rangers were blown away by the force and landed on the ground several meters away. The Rangers got on their feet and readied themselves to attack.

Golzor ran towards them and began to fight Benjamin. The first blow came with a force so sudden that Ben was almost knocked away. But he held his ground and kicked at Golzor. His foot made contact and pushed Golzor away far enough for Ben to make a counter-offensive. He made a karate-chop with his left arm and hit Golzor. Ben hurried to follow up with a powerful punch, but Golzor blocked the attack. Pushing Ben away, he blocked the incoming attack from Joseph and Katherine.

While Joseph kept Golzor busy, Katherine jumped back and readied her blaster. But Golzor managed to send Joseph flying, and send him right into Katherine. Meanwhile, Ben had gotten up again ran in front of his friends, protecting them. Golzor kicked out at Ben but he blocked the attack. They lowered their legs and Golzor tried to hit Ben. But Ben dodged and lashed out at Golzor. Golzor stepped back and the other Rangers joined Ben.

"Enough" Golzor said and raised his left arm to his face.

"What's he doing?" Joseph asked but would soon know the answer. Golzor stretched his arm and yellow lightning shot out towards the Rangers. As it made contact, the lightning exploded and the Rangers were blown through the air for several meters.

All Rangers were now lying on the ground as Golzor approached them. "Pitiful" he said, standing tall above them. "After 4000 years, this is all the Earth has to offer?" Ben looked up at Golzor. The mighty demon could crush them at any time. And he knew it.

"Well" Ben said as he tried to get on his feet. "That... And this!" his voice suddenly rose as he used what felt like the last of his strength to in one movement drag his blaster and fire at Golzor, throwing himself towards the ground to avoid a counter-attack. Golzor was hit by the blasts and stumbled backwards.

"This isn't over yet, Rangers!" Golzor said. "Imps!" A portal opened and several Imps fell through, ready to fight the Rangers.

"More of these guys?" Katherine asked.

"Yes" Golzor said, smiling sinister. "See you later, Rangers!" Golzor turned and ran away.

"If you guys take the Imps, then I'll go after the demon" Ben said looking at his friends. They nodded and Benjamin ran to his bike, gassed up and drove past the Imps, who were already engaged in combat with Katherine and Joseph.

Katherine jumped backwards to avoid one of Imps and barely dodged another that came at her side. Facing two Imps, Katherine began to defend herself. One of the Imps lashed out for her, its nails flashed in the bright sun. Katherine kicked the arm away and regained her balance, back flipping away to avoid another attack.

"I'm tired of you guys" she said and began to attack. She punched the first Imp with her right hand, quickly following it up with a punch from the left hand. The Imp fell and landed on its back. Turning to face the other, Katherine barely had the time to see a small fist coming towards her. Gathering her strength, she jumped over the Imp, somersaulting on the way. She landed perfectly behind it and turned quickly to kick it in the back. The Imp fell down and Katherine turned to continue the fight against more Imps.

Meanwhile, Joseph had been avoiding blow after blow. But the energy required was wearing him down. "Enough" Joseph said as he suddenly had his back against the wall. An Imp closed in and jumped to strike Joseph in the head. But Joseph moved his head in the last second and the Imp's fist collided with the wall. Not giving the Imps a chance to re-group, Joseph picked up the Imp and threw him towards the other Imps. It was a clean hit and several Imps fell to the ground. Ben jumped above the last one only to land behind it. Turning around, he sent the creature flying with a well placed punch. He turned around and saw five more.

Katherine ran to his side, ready to help him. But the three that had fought against her had followed her as well. The two Rangers were slowly being backed up against a corner.

"What do we do?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know" Joseph said. "We could try the blasters?" he suggested. As one, both Rangers drew their blasters and pressed the trigger. But nothing happened. The Imps were still getting closer, as was the corner behind them.

"There's not enough power" Katherine said, holding the blaster sideways to check the energy level.

"Great time to run out of battery" Joseph said sarcastically. "Now what do we do?"

As an answer to his question they heard a loud yell, followed by watching an Imp thrown up into the air. "What's going on?" Katherine asked before she saw who it was.

As from out of nowhere, Travis had appeared. A few of the Imps had turned to face him, but Travis blocked their attacks and brought both to the ground with a low kick that swept their feet away. "I saw you guys were in trouble" he shouted, across the Imps. "Do you need a hand?"

"We'd appreciate it" Joseph said. Katherine just nodded.

Travis gave a wry smile before fighting again. The Imps from before had gotten up and Travis focussed on them. As one of them closed in, Travis spun around, knocking it away with his school bag, while getting it of one shoulder. Travis got free from it quickly and turned to the other imp in front of him, school bag in hand. The Imp attacked and Travis put his school bag up to defend himself. The other got up and closed in, so Travis moved the bag over there, giving the other a kick. The first Imp attacked, but the school bag was too big for it. Quickly, Travis retracted it, and kicked the Imp in the face. The other Imp was running towards him, clearly frustrated. "Catch this" Travis said and threw his school bag towards the creature. Baffled, the Imp stopped and grabbed the bag, only to be kicked away while Travis took his bag.

Joseph and Katherine had watched Travis fight. "Incredible" Joseph said.

"Not bad" Katherine agreed, arms crossed. "But now it's our turn."

"Right!" Joseph and Katherine stood next to each other. "Blue Knight Blades!" The two elbow-like blades shimmered and appeared in Joseph's hands, each roughly 40 centimetres long. They curved as they went towards his elbows and when they were fully materialized, Joseph readied himself.

"Yellow Knight Lance!" the long lance shimmered and appeared in her hands. It was yellow with darker stripes spiralling down the shaft. In the end, there was a curved blade. Standing in attack position, Katherine initiated the first attack. She ran into the midst of the Imps, hitting frantically, yet accurately, at the Imps. Each time she hit an Imp, small sparks flew out and the Imp spun around, trying to regain its balance.

Not that they had a chance though, for Joseph had joined the fray, taking out the Imps while they were still dizzy. When only two Imps remained, the Rangers drew their blasters and fired at the Imps. The Imps were hit clean on and fell over. All Imps had been soundly defeated.

Joseph and Katherine gathered at Travis and thanked him for his help. "It was nothing" Travis said and shrugged.

"No, that was something" Katherine said. "If it hadn't been for you, we would have had serious trouble."

"I'm sorry, but we have to go" Joseph said, cutting the congratulations short. "We gotta go help B... Red." Joseph bit his tongue. He had almost revealed that Ben was the Red Atlantis Ranger. They ran over to their bikes and soon, they left Travis behind, racing to help Ben fight Golzor.

* * *

Benjamin was racing down the street, trying to catch up with Golzor. It had been less than a minute since he left the other Rangers to battle the Imps. During that short time, he had already found and followed Golzor. Ben increased his speed but to no avail, he still couldn't catch Golzor. The demon was just a flash of light far ahead of him, the same light that he had become when he had attacked the Rangers.

Golzor turned a corner and Benjamin followed. Whenever Ben tried to increase his speed, Golzor would match it. "It seems like he wants to lead me somewhere" Benjamin thought. "But where? It could be an ambush." These thoughts and more were racing through Bens mind as he followed the demon towards an old building which was due for destruction. Ben could see from here that one of the sides was missing.

Suddenly, the demon sped up and reached the building in no time. Ben parked sideways, staring in disbelief. The demon had just jumped 5 stories into the air and landed perfectly inside the building. "I he can do it" Ben thought as he got of his bike "then so can I!" Ben gathered his strength and bend down in his knees. Stretching his legs, Ben jumped into the air, releasing all the stored power. Ben skyrocketed through the air. He aimed for the 5th floor, the same floor Golzor had landed on. Landing gracefully, he stood up and turned to face Golzor. The two combatants were roughly ten meters apart.

"You are tuning out to be more than just a nuisance" Golzor hissed, his voice showing his anger.

"And you are getting on my nerves" Benjamin said. "So how about we end this?"

"Fine by me." The two readied themselves and then ran towards each other. Golzor made the first attack, lashing out after Benjamin. But the Red Ranger ducked and, using his arms for support, made a low kick. Golzor fell backwards and as he landed with a THUD Benjamin got to his feet. Lifting his right leg high into the air, Ben stored power. Before Golzor had a change to retaliate, Ben let go and slammed his foot towards Golzor.

But Ben had been to slow. Golzor grabbed hold of Benjamin's leg and threw him back with all his might. Benjamin was thrown up in the air and landed painfully on his back. Unlike his opponent, Golzor wasted no time and jumped to his feet as soon as he had let go of Ben. Rushing towards him, he charged power in his fist, preparing to slam it down in Ben. The Ranger barely saw the attack coming and rolled out of the way. Golzor slammed his fist into the floor of the unfinished building, leaving a deep hole.

Ben got to his feet and Golzor jumped away before Ben had a chance to attack. Closing in again, Golzor made a circle kick, forcing Benjamin to walk backwards. Golzor entered a fury and Ben had no choice but to avoid. Whenever he tried to get on either side, his attempts were blocked, forcing him to walk backwards, towards the edge of the building.

Ben took another step to avoid Golzor's fury. As his foot hit the floor, he instantly noticed that his heel was not supported. Ben almost lost his balance but quickly reclaimed it. How was he going to get out of this one? Golzor stepped closer and now only a meter was between them. "What do I do" Benjamin's mind raced. Golzor stepped closer, walking slowly on purpose. "I know" Ben thought. Golzor took another step and the two of them were almost within hair's breadth when Ben pulled out his blaster and fired directly at Golzor. The demon was hit three times and stumbled back several meters, allowing Benjamin to regain ground.

The demon frowned as he regained his balance. "How about we take it up a notch?" he said, looking at Ben, but not waiting for an answer. "Demon Sword!" A purple cloud emanated from his hand and took the form of a sword. It shone for a second and once it had grown dim, a nicely carved sword rested in the demons hand. The handle was made of gold, while the blade itself was a black metal. Ben could tell it was sharp, even from the distance.

"Okay!" he said. "Red Knight Sword!" Benjamin's Ranger Sword appeared in his hand. The red hilt lay perfectly in his grasp, the white blade cut through the air like a knife through warm butter. The two looked at each other for a few seconds. Then Golzor attacked Benjamin. He ran towards him and used his sword to strike at Ben. But the Ranger protected himself with his own sword. Pushing him back, Ben followed with an attack of his own. But the mighty demon parried the blow.

For the next few minutes, neither Benjamin nor Golzor was able to gain an advantage. They traded blows, Ben leading the attack a few seconds, then Golzor had the upper hand. As they kept on going, Benjamin could feel his energy leave his body. "I can't take much more" he thought as he parried another blow. "I got to end this somehow." Ben blocked another blow as he tried to think. Finally, he got an idea.

As Golzor attacked again, Benjamin stepped back, letting Golzor use all of his momentum. Ben pretended to strike with the sword, but when Golzor moved his sword, found that Ben hadn't attacked. He had blocked the Demon Sword's range; Golzor was unable to attack. Ben, on the other hand, quickly loosened his blaster and shot at Golzor. Two shots, then the blaster was empty. "But with a little luck" Ben thought as Golzor stumbled back by the blaster shots, "two shots are all I need." Ben raised his sword and ran towards a still stumbling Golzor.

Unknown to him, was that his friends had finished the Imps and arrived at the building. If he had looked down, he would find them parking and running towards the stairs leading upwards. But Ben didn't have the time to think about this. He focussed on running towards the stumbled Golzor and to attack. As he reached, Ben swung his sword, but a powerful blow, knocked it out of his hands, causing the sword to slide over the floor. Ben looked up and saw an angry Golzor, who had been faking the last few seconds. Ben jumped out of the way when Golzor made a swipe with his sword.

But Golzor just raised his hand across his chest. A purple energy played between his fingers, the same energy attack he had used previously. Golzor stretched his arm and Ben was caught in the middle of the blast. The explosion caused Ben to fly into the air, sparks and minor explosions hitting the suit. Ben landed battered next to his sword. He tried to get up, but to no avail. His arms slipped when he tried to use them for support, his legs working against him.

Slowly, Golzor stepped ever closer. "This is the end of you, Ranger" Golzor said in his most mocking voice. As he stopped right in front of Benjamin, who was still on the ground, he said: "Any last words?" Ben looked terrified up his opponent. Suddenly, three laser shots flew through the air, hitting Golzor's dark armour. Golzor stumbled back and Ben tried to turn his head around.

Running closer from the other side of the unfinished building were his Ranger colleagues. As they arrived at Ben Joseph helped him up while Katherine fetched his sword. "Are you okay?" Joseph asked.

"I'll be fine" Ben said, nearly gasping for air.

"Not for long, you won't" A recovered Golzor said.

Ben stepped forth, Joseph to his right and Katherine to his left. "I've just about had with this guy" he said. "So let's combine our weapons!"

"Blue Knight Blades!" Joseph called and his blades appeared in his hands. Joseph slammed the dull, straight sides together and formed a large, bow-like shape. After that, he threw the blade up in front of Benjamin and it hovered in the air.

"Yellow Knight Lance!" Katherine called and her weapon appeared. Splitting it in three, Katherine threw every part at the combined elbow-blades and the pieces attached themselves underneath the blades.

"Red Knight Sword!" Ben called, placing his sword on top of the weapon. Benjamin grabbed hold of the sword and the blades, Joseph supported the right side, while Katherine supported the left. "Atlantis Mega-Blaster" they shouted. "Fire!" An energy ball shot out from the weapon and flew towards Golzor. The energy ball seemed to bend gravity around it as it flew towards Golzor, making Golzor unable to avoid the attack. As the energy ball connected with Golzor, it exploded. The Rangers turned around victorious, as the explosion subsided.

"We did it" Katherine said.

"Nice job everyone" Haslan's voice sounded through their morpher. "Please come to Atlantis as soon as possible."

"Right, we are on our way. Ben out." He looked at his friends and together, they made their way down to their bikes and drove off towards the abandoned church and the portal to Atlantis.

But what the Rangers didn't know was that Golzor had not been defeated. He had survived the explosion and pretended to be dead until the Rangers were gone. As he heard their bikes drive away, he rose and looked out over the city. "I'll get you next time, Rangers" he said. "Next time, I'll win." After this, Golzor returned to Wyrmina's castle.

* * *

The first thing the Rangers heard when they arrived in Atlantis, was the pressure on their ears. It didn't take long for their powers to shield them, even when they powered down from their Ranger mode. They made their way through the castle to the throne room. The place was as majestic as ever; the green-blue coral covering everything was beautiful.

"Once again" King Haslan said as the Rangers entered the throne room "I must congratulate you on a job well done."

"Thanks" the Rangers said.

"Why did you call us here?" Joseph asked.

"Because, I need to tell you about your opponent."

"Why?" Katherine asked. "We beat him, didn't we?"

It took a while for King Haslan to answer. "No" he said. He began to explain as he saw the Rangers' confused looks. "That demon is one of the highest ranking generals in Wyrmina's army. He is not easily destroyed and the fact that you were able to stand your ground against him was luck. So please. Take care next time you face him."

"We will" Benjamin said and him, Katherine and Joseph left Atlantis, going back to their own world. As they stepped out of the portal, they parted ways and rode home on their bicycles. As the sun sat in the horizon, Ben couldn't help but think that he hoped not every school day would be like this.

* * *

There's a lot of things I'm not satisfied about with this , there's the school. So the school reminds of Angel Grove High. So what? At least you have a frame of reference. As does the Youth centre. But again, it gives a frame of reference and matches my idea of how it looks. And yeah, the scene with Katherine and the girls suck, but I had a really hard time making that scene. I don't have a frame of reference on that one, so I'm going on instincts, so to speak. And yes… I know that gargoyles originally were holy objects, protecting the church from unwanted visitors, but a) it seemed appropriate and b) just assume that there is more than one kind of gargoyles. And once again, people with a little Spanish knowledge gets a little more out of this than the rest of you. Those with Spanish (and who have watched Charmed) should know the incantation Quiser performs. For you who can't Spanish, here it is: "Spirits from the other side, come across this great divide. Come to us, we call you near. Come to us and settle here." (Note: I used an online translator for this. I could probably have done it myself, but it was late and I was tired.)

Generally, I don't think that this chapter lives up to the standard set by its predecessor. I actually wanted the Zords in here, but they'll have to wait for next chapter. Not only had I already passed the word count, I also felt that I would be cramming to much into one chapter.


	3. Chapter 3: Some Zord of Trouble

Phew, I made it. A few months overdue and not in time at all, but I made it. Episode 3 is finally here.

As usual, see below for more Authors Notes, but before that, I'd like to thank Pinkrangerforever for helping me out fix a few mistakes and helping me with the ending (to an extend, that is). For those interested, the story spans 11.175 words (= 22 pages).

* * *

Power Rangers. Atlantis! (5 sec melody)

Ancient powers with ancient ways.

Coming to our world today.

Powers of Water, Power Unite.

Come and face this evil tonight. (4 sec pause)

Ancient evils awaken anew.

Only you can stop their crew.

Heroes come to save the day.

Power Rangers come our way. (4 sec pause.)

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Atlantis Knights… GO!

Episode 3: Some Zord of Trouble

"And remember to hand in your papers on Friday!" The teacher nearly yelled to compete with both the bell and the buzzing of her students, all eager to get out of class as soon as possible. It didn't take long for the class to dry out, and soon, only Joseph and the teacher was left in the room.

"Need a hand finishing up, Mrs. Whitney?" he asked, as he placed the last book in his backpack.

"Yes, please" she said calmly, gasping for air. It was easy to understand why she was gasping. Not that they had been doing anything strenuous, but the air had been dry and warm for the past four days or so. Even though there was a little wind now and then, it couldn't help blow off the intense summer heat. Joseph looked out of the window as he grabbed a few sheets of paper that lay on the floor. The sun was shining strait through the windows from a clear sky, making the room a human-sized oven.

Joseph continued to clean the other tables, removing graph paper, rulers and other mathematical objects, only to place them on their respective shelf in the closet. He was done after a few minutes. "Goodbye, Mrs. Whitney" he said as he grabbed his bag. The teacher replied but Joseph was already out of the door. Joseph walked down the long, empty hallway, heading for his locker. Most classes had already ended, but Joseph still had another one to go.

He approached his locker and opened it, only to have it slammed shut right away. He tried opening it, but was so occupied by his thoughts that he at first didn't see the arm that held his locker closed. When he did, however, he was almost too scared to look in the direction of which it came. "What are you doing, twerp?" he heard Frantz ask mockingly. Joseph sank and turned to look at him.

"Just getting a book" he said slowly, hoping to buy time. Not that Joseph had any idea of what good that might do him.

"Does it, by chance, have anything, anything at all; to do with my homework you promised to make?" the bully asked him.

Joseph sighed and looked up at the bully. He was taller and better built than Joseph's short body. There was no way he could take him out. "N... not really" he said and feared Frantz's retribution. "But I'll have it done before I meet tomorrow" he hurried to say, hoping to avoid a beating.

Frantz's eyes grew small. It would have looked comical if not for Joseph's situation. "You'd better" he spat. "Or else..." Frantz's withdrew his arm, gathering strength for the attack. Joseph held up his arms to protect his head from the attack and closed his eyes, his body tense. He waited for a short moment, but nothing happened. Joseph peaked out through his eyelids and opened his eyes. The reason that Frantz hadn't attacked was that his arm was held back by an even larger, black hand. Joseph's face lit up when he recognised the person holding back Frantz's arm.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" Travis said, looking down on the bully. Frantz turned around and withdrew his arm. He looked up at the tall, black person in front of him.

"None of your business" he said, clearly not intimidated by Travis' size. "But if you really must know" he began, while rubbing his arm, "I was simply asking how it was going with his homework." He looked behind him and his eyes narrowed again. "Isn't that right, Joseph" he said, trying to sound both disgusted yet respectful at the same time. He didn't do a good job but Joseph merely hung his head and nodded in agreement, fearing the consequences of not doing so. Frantz turned to face Travis again. "As you can see, there's nothing going on here."

"Is that so" the black teenager said, still looking harshly at Frantz, arms now crossed in front of his chest. "Then I suggest that you leave it at that and go away now." Travis kept his cool, though Joseph knew him well enough to know that he wanted nothing more than an excuse to send Frantz flying. Frantz grunted and left. "Are you okay?" Travis asked Joseph whose head still hung.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" Joseph said sighing. Travis looked at him and knew he lied.

"Why do you let him pick on you like that?" Travis asked as Joseph opened his locker.

The bully had left a sweaty handprint on the locker; something Joseph made a mental note about having to clean. "It hasn't always been like that" Joseph said distracted. "Once we were actually friends but I must have done something to..." Joseph had closed his locker and looked at Travis as he told his story, but something had forced him to stop. Travis stood completely still, arms crossed; only raising an eyebrow in doubt. Joseph sighed. "Who am I trying to fool?" he asked no one in particular. "He's hated me ever since we started in pre-school together. I was hoping it end now that we're in High School, but..." Joseph trailed off, and leaned against his locker. "Heh, it's funny" he said. "I'm a Power Ranger that fights monsters, but I can't even defend myself against a simple bully."

At this, Travis raised both eyebrows. "You?" he said, disbelieving. "A Power Ranger?" Travis started to laugh, a loud, healthy laughter. "That's good one" he said when he finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah, isn't it" Joseph said with a fake smile, well knowing how bad he had screwed up. "I mean, I wish I was a Power Ranger, then I could probably stand up to him."

"You don't need to be a Power Ranger to stand up to a bully" Travis said, half smiling, half laughing.

"I guess so" Joseph said in a slightly cheerier tune, already cheering up. Then the bell rung again and Joseph excused himself. Clutching the books, he turned around. "By the way, Ben asked me to let you know that the three of us would hang out at the Youth Centre after school. In case you want to join us" Joseph said shrugging as he added the last part.

Travis nodded. "Sure, I'll be there" he said and walked away to get to his own class. Joseph turned again and rushed toward his class.

Ca-Crash The sound of lightning that tore open the sky could be heard everywhere in the castle. The vast, desolate wasteland that surrounded it only served to amplify the sound. There was no shelter in the bare, flat land. Any creature unlucky enough to find itself in this land would surely meet an untimely demise. But then again, nothing could survive out there in the fruitless land. From the castle you could see miles of the surrounding wasteland and no matter where you looked, not a single sign of life, animal of vegetation, was in sight.

CA-CRASH Another lightning bolt, this one more powerful than the previous one had been. The flashes illuminated the land for miles, while the bolt that made contact with the ground scattered the rocky ground, sending gravel flying in every direction. But despite all these dangers and horrors outside, it was nothing compared to the horror that Wyrmina's henchmen were experiencing inside the castle.

Wyrmina and her demons were in the Throne Room. The room was large and rectangular, making the walk to the thrones even more intimidating than else. The purple, velvet carpet that had been torn over the centuries looked older than it was as the demons humbly set their feet in the room. Hollow suits of armour stood along the sides of the room, seemingly guarding the door and the princess. Between every few armoured statues were pillars, keeping an incomplete roof aloft. As the three demons kneeled before their princess, Wyrmina got up.

She walked past each of them slowly, her long legs striding past each of them with determination. The black metal that coated her legs looked liked leather when she was not in a fight. Her black hair hung loose on her back, a veil to conceal the anger that made her eyes glow yellow. She turned around and walked past them once again. Her steps cracked against the marble floor where the carpet was completely destroyed, sounding louder than the crackling lightning outside. Having reached the end again, she walked back up to the thrones and sat down again.

She stared at them for a while longer before starting to speak. "Why have you not come up with a plan to take over Golden Springs yet?" Wyrmina hissed. Her yellow eyes shone brightly and her twin-egged tongue slipped past her lips. Quiser and Golzor said nothing, didn't even move. Fuboon quivered.

"Please forgive us, your majesty" Quiser said softly and dared raise his head. "But we are almost ready to retrieve another demon."

"Why now?" Wyrmina asked, raising her voice. "Why after a week? Why not as soon as they won?"

"As I tried to tell you" Quiser started "the pocket dimension holding the demons is highly unstable. If we add to much energy or draw out to many demons at any one time, we will risk collapsing the dimension, which will result in the death of all the demons in it. This would then..." Ca-Crack! It was the sound of a purple lightning bolt the left Wyrmina's stretched out hand could be heard everywhere in the large Throne Room. Upon impact, Quiser was thrown back and rolled more than ten metres across the marble floor.

"And you" she said, turning her attention to Fuboon. "What about you? Do you have a plan to destroy the Rangers rattling somewhere in that skull of yours?" Wyrmina hissed.

"Uhm... Uh... Well... I... We...." Fuboon staggered. "You see... No?" Fuboon ended the last question with a grimace, indicating he knew it was the wrong answer. His reward was a swift kick in the chest by Wyrmina and the well built, blue demon skidded backwards across the floor and landed next to Quiser. Wyrmina had gotten up from the throne to kick him and was walking with slow, steady steps towards the two fallen demons. The demon clad in dark armour, Golzor, followed slowly.

"You two are the worst ever" she hissed. "Not just once, but twice, have your plans been thwarted by three teenagers. THREE!" Wyrmina shouted the last word and, unable to maintain her cool, began to transform into her Wyvern form. Her skin turned gradually scaly, and what had seemed to be her armour before proved to be more scales. Before the transformation was complete, Wyrmina was able to constrain herself and stop the mutation. Still halfway through, her voice sounded deeper, more dragon like. "You had better figure something out. FAST!"

"If you don't do as the princess says, you will face the consequences." The voice sounded deep from within the black helmet that carried the same thin, golden markings as the rest of his suit.

But in less than a second, Wyrmina had turned around, her neck, which was nearly a metre long this far into the transformation, bended a 180 degrees. Her eyes shone bright yellow, menacing and threatening. "You're one to talk" she said and small flames slipped out of her throat and past her twin-egged tongue as she spoke. "You're supposed to be the general of the demon army, yet you lost in direct combat with those pitiful teenagers." The last few words were spit out as if she had eaten poison. Then, forcing a calm upon herself, Wyrmina reverted to her normal, human form. "How soon can you extract another demon?" she asked Quiser calmly.

"Very soon, your highness" Quiser said. "With your permission, I'll go find out right away." Wyrmina nodded and sent them all away. As the three demons left, Wyrmina sank back in her throne.

As the school bell rang yet again to signal the end of the final class of the day, Joseph was already walking out the main entrance. Their teacher had ended the class a little early, allowing the students to enjoy the last of the summer. Joseph made his way towards the bicycle shed. He had already suppressed the encounter with Frantz and was whistling in tune with the music on his mp3. He found his blue bike and unlocked it. It wasn't hard as most of the students had already gone home, leaving only a few bikes in the shed. Soon, Joseph was out of the school premises and going down the road towards the Youth Centre. It was less than 10 minutes walk from the school, located on the opposite side of the city park.

He got there soon and started looking after Ben's and Katherine's bike. He found them and parked next to them. After locking his bike he went into the Youth Centre. He walked up the small hallway which held wardrobes and toilets and into the main centre. The walls were the same yellow as the school, with the same red panels. "Must be a conspiracy" Joseph mumbled and continued to look around the room. Not unexpectedly, he saw Katherine sitting at a table close to the gym part, watching Ben and Travis train. Several of the machines in the gym section were in use. Boys and girls, teenagers and young adults alike used the machines; others preferred the more manual way with actual hand weights.

Joseph walked up to the bar and ordered a strawberry milkshake. He got his milkshake, paid the bartender and walked over to Katherine. "This seat taken?" he asked. Katherine turned around and smiled when she saw her friend. She gestured for him to sit and returned to the match. "Who's winning?" Joseph asked as he sat down.

"With those two, it's hard to tell" Katherine said and took a sip of her soda. Joseph knew what she meant and watched the fight. Ben threw a punch at Travis' torso, but the large Negro skilfully dodged the blow. Ben raised his left leg to kick at Travis who back flipped to avoid the attack. Regaining his balance, Travis launched an assault before Ben had a chance to get his guard up and the punch landed right in his chest. While Ben suffered the after effects of the blow, Travis followed up with an elbow to the side of Ben's head. Ben lost his balance and fell, glad that the training helmet would take the most of the blow. He landed with a thud and Travis stood leaning over him in a second.

"You okay?" he asked Ben who was trying to get the helmet off. He succeeded after a few seconds and started rubbing his chin. The helmet had taken most of the blow, but his chin would be sore for the next while. He nodded and Travis held out a hand, helping up his friend. "Nice bout" Travis said as Ben got to his feet.

"Yeah" Ben said, still rubbing his chin. "But I could have won, you know."

"Sure you could" Travis said, smiling.

"He's right." Ben and Travis turned around while Joseph and Katherine looked up from their drinks. In front of the sweaty combatants stood a young, black-haired female. She was smaller than both Ben and Travis, but slightly taller than Joseph self. She wasn't breathing heavily as the two males, but she was sweating. "Though I doubt either of you could defeat me."

"Oh yeah?" Ben said, looking sceptically.

"Yeah" the girl simply stated. "But I'll be glad to let the two of you try. That is, if you think you can defeat a little girl." The boys looked at each other for a moment, then agreed. They walked to one end of the mat, the girl to the other. None of the three combatants had noticed, but everywhere in the room, things were quieting down, as everyone's attention slowly shifted to the fight that was about to begin. Joseph took another slurp of his milkshake, filling the room with a slurping noise. He looked around with a strange expression, but no one had heard it.

"So how do we do this?" Ben asked. "Do we attack together or one at a time?" The crowd's attention shifted from Ben and Travis to the girl.

"I suppose one-on-one would be the fair option" she said as she tightened her headband. "But if you are to have a chance I suppose both of you had better attack right away." This remark brought out a smile on everyone's lips, even Ben's and Travis'.

"Funny" Travis said, "but then we'd both be known for ganging up on a girl. I'll go first."

"Suit yourself" the black-haired girl replied. Once again, silence reigned in the room as the two contestants prepared themselves mentally. Travis had managed to gain some of his breath back from after his and Ben's sparring, but Joseph had a feeling that it wasn't going to be enough. On the other hand, he had no idea what the girl had been up to, but if she was even slightly exhausted, she didn't let it show.

Then the battle begun. Travis took a step towards her, lifting his arms into position. The girl raised her arms, but other than that didn't move a muscle. Then, Travis launched an attack. A swift kick towards the girl's left side. It was nearly too swift for the girl to react, but she managed to defend herself. Travis pulled back his leg. The moment it touched the ground, a fist came flying towards her. She blocked it and Travis retracted. He attacked again, this time with his left arm. Once more, the black haired girl blocked the blow and Travis stepped back.

Now the girl attacked. Dropping down, she supported herself on her hands and arms as she made a low kick at Travis' feet. Travis jumped to avoid but this gave the girl the opening she needed. The second Travis' feet left the ground, she placed all her weight in her arms and made a swift kick with her left leg. The foot hit Travis on the shins and he lost his air balance. Travis landed on his back and the girl jumped to her feet. Before Travis could get up, a foot was pressed towards his throat. It wasn't hurting him, but it prevented him from getting up.

"Told you" she said, now panting a little. "You couldn't beat a little girl." Then she removed her foot and extended a hand to help him up. Travis grabbed it and, with the girl's aid, got to his feet. They shook hands and Travis turned around, a grim expression of hurt on his face. The girl looked over at Ben, challenging him too.

"No thanks" Ben said with a smile. "Getting my ass kicked once a day is enough." Joseph and Katherine laughed. The girl wrinkled an eyebrow and turned to leave. "Why don't you stay?" Ben asked. "You could sit down, have a drink, and – most important – tell me how to defeat Travis" Ben joked. The girl turned again.

"Sure" she said. Ben, Travis and the girl made their way up the small stairs to the others.

Wyrmina was still sitting in her giant Throne Room, when Quiser came running in. He ran halfway up the purple, velvet carpet while slowing down. As his run became a walk he started staggering for breath. He was not used to running around like this. He walked the other half of the long way to the thrones and, when he finally reached the steps, kneeled. Bowing his head, he began to speak: "My Princess, we are ready to summon another demon."

"Finally" Wyrmina hissed and got up from her throne. "What took you so long?"

Quiser got up as she passed by him. The demon had to run a little to keep up with her fast pace. "We had some... difficulties... but they should... be over by now."

"Difficulties?"

"Well, difficulties might be to exaggerate a bit..."

"Tell me" Wyrmina's voiced boomed with a sudden force, her eye's glowing bright yellow and her twin-edged tongue slipped past her teeth.

"Well, we had some trouble determine the correct frequency of the dimension, since it exists in a constant state of flux. So we had to calculate the correct frequency for which we would direct the spell to even open the dimension and..." Quiser was cut off by a snarl and pressed against the wall. He sank. "No... No problems..."

"Good" Wyrmina said with a deep voice. The grip loosened and she continued to walk towards Quiser's laboratory. Quiser tried to keep up the best he could, but he still had to run a little in order to do so. They finally reached the laboratory where they found Golzor and Fuboon waiting. Golzor was leaning up against a wall, his armour scattering against the bare stone whenever he moved. Fuboon was at the table in the middle of the room. Wyrmina had no idea as to what exactly he was doing, but since he was busying around the table, carrying a lot of papers, she expected him to be doing whatever Quiser had told him to. Wyrmina couldn't help but think that the fool would at least be useful this way. "So" she asked the demons. "Are we ready?"

"Yes, oh terrifying one" Fuboon said as he ran around frantically. He grabbed another piece of paper and made his way to Quiser. "Here you go" he said, handing over the sheet. It was the same paper that had been used last time to open the seal. Now, it would have to do it again.

Quiser took the spell and began to chant the incantation. "Las bebidas espirituosas del otro lado, parecen esta gran divisoria. Venido a nosotros, te llamamos cerca. Venir a nosotros y colocar aquí." This time, the spell worked immediately. There came a bright, purple light, emanating from the centre of the room. The light began to pulsate and after a few seconds, it had formed a hole the size of Fuboon's head. Another few seconds and the hole was the size of a full grown man.

Wyrmina looked inside the hole, onto the pocket dimension that kept the demons caught. Inside it, demons drifted around. Some were fighting to free themselves, some shrieked in pain, others simply drifted through the dimension. After careful consideration, Wyrmina pointed at a humanoid, grey demon. A surge went through the rift as she spoke the demon's name and within seconds, the rift had closed in on itself after letting out Wyrmina's demon. Wyrmina looked at it and smiled sinisterly.

Back at Golden Springs, Katherine, Joseph, Benjamin, Travis and the girl, were sitting at a table in the bar end of the Youth Centre. They were all relaxed and laughing. Right now, Joseph had all but forgotten about Frantz and the homework he had to do for him.

"So tell us again, Sarah" Joseph said to the girl, "how did you beat him? I mean, he's taller and stronger than you."

"That may be" Sarah said and took another gulp of her strawberry milkshake, "but his technique was off." Most of them looked at her with raised brows and a smile on their lips, eager to hear the story for the third time. Travis, however, conveniently excused himself. As he left the table, Sarah followed him with her green eyes, making sure he was completely gone before embarrassing him further. "He kept launching powerful attacks and he nearly caught me off guard at first, but when I was able to see through the pattern, it was easy to beat him."

Ben leaned back with a smile. "I doubt you could defeat me" he said superiorly.

"And why would that be?" Sarah replied looking back him, arms folded on the table. The tension between them had risen incredibly fast and Joseph cut nearly cut through it, had he just had a knife.

"Because" Ben started and mimicked her posture on the other side of the table, "I'm better than he is."

"That's your reason?" Joseph asked awkwardly, trying to break them up. "Doesn't seem like much of a reason to me."

"Is that so" she Sarah asked briskly. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind proving it."

"I'd be delighted to" Ben said. But before they had a chance to leave the table, a soft beeping noise interrupted. Sarah looked around confused but the other three knew exactly what the voice was: It was King Haslan that tried to contact the Rangers through their morphers from Atlantis. The morphers were hidden in their bags, a thing they had all agreed on after the last incident. They got up and apologized in a hurry. "The match will have to wait" Ben said, as he threw a sweat shirt into his bag.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked with a weird look on her face.

"Uhh, you see…" Joseph started. "We promised to… Um… look after Ben's younger brother. And we have to go now in order to do that… But we'll see you later" Joseph said. Ben and Katherine had already left the room and Joseph waved goodbye and nearly stumbled into Travis who entered the double doors. "Hey Travis" Joseph said, then followed it up before he had a chance to reply: "Goodbye Travis." Joseph ran through the doors, down the hall and outside to the others.

Travis continued through and sat down at their table. "Did they just leave without giving a reason again?" Travis asked Sarah looking first after Joseph, then at Sarah.

"Oh, no" she said. "They did give a reason. They were going to take care of Ben's younger brother. What do you mean again?"

"Just that they left me here last week without any reason" Travis wondered. Then something hit him. "What did you say they were going to do again?"

"Take care of Ben's brother" Sarah repeated, then wrinkled an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because today is Thursday, and Ben's younger brother trains at the same karate institute as Ben and I do. And they train at Thursdays." Travis held a small pause. "His brother won't be home for another few hours…"

Joseph nearly bashed through the outer doors and only by stopping abruptly managed not to crash into a couple on the way in. He apologized and sprinted off to the back of the centre. Some of the back side could be seen from inside through windows, but the three teenagers stopped at the corner and made sure that no one could see them. The trees that stood close by helped conceal them from the windows.

Ben threw his bag on the ground and in a few seconds he stood up tall, holding a morpher so they could communicate. "This is Ben" he said into the morpher. "What is it, Haslan?"

"We have detected the presence of another demon that just appeared in Golden Springs." Haslan's voice sounded worried. "I advise caution, Rangers" the old King said. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"We'll be careful" Joseph said, then asked where the demon was. While Haslan informed them that the demon was in the southern part of the city, Joseph and Katherine found and equipped their respective morphers. The Rangers then ended the communication.

"You two ready?" Ben asked his friends.

"Ready" they both replied at once.

All as one, the three teenagers looked the same way and stood with slightly spread legs. They raised their left hand into the air and threw the right one down their side. "Atlantis Gem!" Their combined voices tore through the silence, but no one was close enough to hear them. A small gem appeared in their right hand; its colour reflecting that of its Ranger. "Ancient Powers!" they all shouted as they lowered their right arm while lifting the left, allowing the sphere to move right past the morpher. The moment it had passed they retracted their right arms. "Ready to fight!" they then shouted and slammed the gem into the black, glass-like surface of the morpher.

As the gem merged with the morpher, they were enveloped in a bright, white light. It disappeared as soon as it had appeared and revealed their Ranger suits. The suit was in the colour of the Ranger and Joseph looked down on his blue suit to see the familiar 'A' on the left chest. The helmet appeared right away and Joseph's field of vision was given a darker shade. The Rangers were fully morphed and as soon as they had called their motorbikes, they were racing south through the town.

"We should be there in about five minutes" Katherine said through the communication system in the helmets.

"Let's hope that's not too late" Ben said and learned over as if to push an extra few miles per hour out of the engine. Joseph and Katherine kept up and after a few minutes the dense buildings at the core of the city had given way for smaller houses and broader streets. The three Rangers kept on racing south, guided by Haslan over the communicators. Five minutes after leaving the Youth Centre, they reached the scene where the demon was.

At first, Joseph couldn't believe what he saw. Several cars were trashed beyond repair and, some of them, even beyond recognition. Fences that bordered up to most of the small houses on the street were trashed and the trees that once decorated the street were now either ablaze or completely vaporised. "Look at all the destruction" Joseph said sad.

"And it's not over yet" Katherine said and pointed. "Look over there." Katherine pointed towards, what could only be the demon.

Joseph gazed in its direction and regretted immediately. The demon was humanoid, but that was the only human thing about it. It was a little over 2 metres tall by Joseph's best estimate, and its skin was a pale shade of grey. It moved its thin, grey arms as were there no bones in them to keep them stable. Joseph had a grim suspicion that it might just be the case. Ben called out at it and just before it turned around, Joseph thought that it couldn't get any worse. As soon as he saw the face of the demon, he found himself sorely mistaken. Its face was that of a void; its nose a hole, a dark and black mouth and where the eyes should be were pure darkness. As it took a few steps closer to the Rangers, Joseph could see that while the creature might not have a lot of bones, it had more than enough muscle to make up for it.

"What is that thing?" Ben asked.

"Ugly" Joseph relied.

"And probably dangerous" Katherine added, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Whatever it is, it's going down now" Ben said.

"Ancient Powers, ready to fight" they shouted, then took battle positions. "Power Rangers, Atlantis Knights!" The Rangers were ready and started running towards the creature. Ben made it there first and kicked at the demon. It dodged and slammed Ben in the back with its bulky arm. The Red Ranger was sent flying and landed a little away on his back. Katherine was next and threw a fist at the demon. It brought a hand up to protect itself against the assault. Before Katherine had time to react, the demon had grabbed her arm and sent her flying, only to crash down next to Ben.

While Ben made his way to check on Katherine, Joseph had made his way to the demon. He kicked at it from behind and made contact. But the creature seemed unharmed. It twisted its head and stared at Joseph with those empty eye-sockets. Joseph was paralysed in an instant. He tried to move, but to no avail; his body had stopped listening.

"Get out of the way" Katherine screamed. Joseph tried again, but he couldn't move. All he could do was watch the grey, creepy demon stare at him, paralysing him. He watched helplessly as the grey demon lifted its right arm to the left and, with a mighty slap, sent him flying. He landed on the ground and rolled backwards into a car. Katherine and Ben rushed to his side.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked him as he kneeled down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll survive" Joseph answered, breathing heavily.

"Guys, I hate to break your moment of bonding and all, but that thing is coming at us again." It was Katherine that had cut them off and the boys jerked their heads in the direction of the creature. It was indeed moving ever so slowly towards them. The guys got up and stood on either side of her.

"Alright, if we are no match for it physically, we'll simply have to use our blasters" Ben said as he drew his blaster. The other two Rangers mimicked his moves and readied their own blasters. "Take aim" Ben said and they did. "FIRE!" The three Rangers fired and a series of red, yellow and blue blasts flew through the air, heading towards the demon. But a second before the blasts connected, the demon threw itself to the right and was gone.

"Where'd it go?" Joseph exclaimed. "It was right there a second ago!"

"It can't just have disappeared" Katherine said. "Right?"

As if on cue, Katherine was struck in the back and flew forwards. Ben and Joseph spun around on the spot and stared right up in the deformed face of the demon. Its dark eye sockets petrified the boys immediately. Katherine managed to get up, but not without effort. "Leave my friends alone" she yelled at the creature but it paid her no mind. Katherine drew her yellow blaster once more and aimed. She fired and a series of small, yellow bursts flew towards the creature. It hit and the creature was flung backwards by the impact. The boys collapsed and Kathy ran to their side. "Are you two alright?" she asked with worry in her voice.

"I'll manage" Ben said. "But I don't know about Joseph. Katherine looked at the Blue Ranger and was shocked. Not only was Joseph unconscious, but his pulse was weak.

"We have to get help" Katherine said.

"That'll have to wait" Ben said and got up. "For that grey... thing... is getting up." Katherine got up beside Ben and together they faced the creature. While it had been thrown about ten meters away by the blasts, the demon didn't seem like it had taken any damage.

"Blasters?" Katherine asked.

"No good" Ben said. "Yours still need to re-charge."

"Damn" Katherine cursed under her breath, a thing she didn't practise on a daily basis.

"But we could use our weapons" Ben said. Katherine nodded and Ben made the first command: "Red Knight Sword!" A sword with a red hilt appeared in Ben's right hand. The beautiful, clean metal had a crimson glow, emanating from the centre of the sword. The blade was not much longer than Ben's forearm, and the hilt the size of his fist.

"Yellow Knight Lance" Katherine shouted and the long, yellow rod with a golden pattern appeared in her hands. On one end was a sharp, one foot long metallic edge that seemed like it could cut through anything. The other end was blunt, trading swiftness for raw power.

The two, armed Rangers took defensive positions in front of Joseph. "Do we have a plan" the yellow Ranger asked as the grey demon tilted its head, looking curiously at them.

"Yeah" Ben said. "We fight, kick-ass and bring Joseph to safety."

"Great plan" Katherine sighed. "Let's hope it doesn't get us killed."

The demon howled and charged at the Rangers. Ben ran towards it and slashed it as he ran past. The creature was unharmed, except it lost a little balance; and just little enough for Katherine. She shot the lance left and then made a mighty swing to the right, using the lance as a bat. She hit the demon and it flew backwards towards Ben. Ben jumped and slashed the defence less creature in mid-air, causing it to pummel to the ground. The Rangers raced to the creature, pointing their weapons at it. "I can't believe your plan worked" Katherine said amazed.

"Well, it was somewhat..." Ben started at the remark. Then, when he realized what exactly she had said, he interrupted himself. "Hey!" Katherine chuckled.

But the Rangers had lost focus. The demon saw its time to strike and jumped to its feet, knocking back the two Rangers in the process. Ben and Katherine flew through the air but before they landed the demon had made its way to them and caught them in mid-air, only to throw them through the air again. Ben and Katherine landed next to Joseph. The demon walked closer to them, slowly.

"Oh boy, now we're in trouble" Ben said.

"That's right" a voice said from one of the roof tops.

"Oh great, now what" Katherine staggered as the two Rangers tried to get to their feet. They both looked up towards the sound and saw a figure, clad in black armour. The golden waved strings shone brilliantly in the sun.

"Remember me, Rangers?"

"Golzor!" Ben and Kathy shouted as one. Of course they remembered the demon that had attacked them last week. Then Ben continued: "Back to get your butt kicked again?"

"By you?" Golzor laughed. "You can barely stand." Golzor jumped from the roof and landed next to the demon. "You are no match for me, but in killing you, I shall have my revenge."

"Bite me" Ben said and readied himself. But before he could do anything, Katherine grabbed his arm.

"It's no use" she said in a low voice. "He's right. We are one Ranger down and the two of us can barely stand." She looked back at Joseph, then at Golzor and the demon. "Don't you think it's time to get away?"

Ben looked at Golzor. He wanted nothing more than defeating him and the demon, but he knew that Katherine was right. "Okay" he sighed. "You win. I'll hold them off while you get Joseph and yourself to the bikes. I'll follow the instant you leave."

Katherine was about to argue, but decided against it. "Got it."

Ben got up and rushed towards Golzor and the grey demon. The demon threw a punch at him and Golzor swung his sword. But the red Ranger jumped high and avoided both attacks. He landed a distance behind them and the demons spun around. Ben turned too, readying his sword. Golzor charged and slashed at Ben. The Ranger blocked the attack with his sword and, summoning his remaining strength, pushed him back. He quickly drew his blaster and fired a series of shots, which all exploded on impact, covering the demons in smoke.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard and everyone turned in the direction of the sound. Katherine had made her way to Joseph, and the sound that had startled everyone was that of an engine starting up. The yellow and blue Ranger were long gone before the demons could do anything about it. They turned to face Ben once again, but he, too, had disappeared. "I'll get you" Golzor said in a deep voice. "And when I do, you will suffer greatly."

"Will he be okay?" Katherine asked worried. The Rangers had arrived in Atlantis less than 15 minutes ago and King Haslan had swiftly guided them to the infirmary. It looked like most human facilities would do; beds, monitors, curtains. If not for the blue-green walls that looked like coral, it might as well have been human.

"I'm sure he'll be fine" Haslan said, trying to calm her down. "Let the doctors see to him. That's all we can do." Haslan guided his young warriors away from the infirmary and walked through the hallways of the palace. The floor was made of the same blue-green coral-like marble, as were the walls. The middle of the hallway was covered with a crimson carpet, only letting the edge of the floor show. "Now, tell me of this new demon you fought" Haslan requested as they walked.

Ben and Katherine looked at each other for a moment then Ben started speaking: "Well, it's about human size, but more powerful than a human. It has grey skin and its eyes are nothing but black sockets. The rest of its face is twisted too." Ben hadn't noticed that Haslan had stopped and kept on walking as he continued. "Oh, and it could turn invisible and suck the energy out of us." He looked to the side where Haslan had been only a few seconds before but when he wasn't there, stopped and turned around.

"It couldn't be..." Haslan mumbled.

"What is it, Haslan?" Katherine asked, using his name rather than his title.

"If what you say is true..." Haslan started and trailed off. "Quickly, come with me!" Unexpectedly, Haslan started running. Katherine shrugged and they followed. The old king was surprisingly fast for his age and small stature, so fast the teens had trouble keeping up. After a few minutes they had reached what Ben assumed to be the basement, but with all the stairs they had passed by, he was utterly confused. As the two teens looked around, they found themselves in what seemed like a library. Everywhere in the room were books, some older than others. In the middle was a small table with a few Atlantians around it. Haslan went over to the group and conversed in a low voice. He soon returned to the teens. "It is as I feared" he said. "The seers have confirmed my suspicion. The demon you fought was a Bodak."

"A what?" asked Ben.

"A Bodak. You already know its physical powers and the more... special, powers. I fear that you might not be able to defeat it, not without training."

"So train us" Katherine said.

"No, there is no time. But we might be able to increase the power in your morphers for a short time."

"So what do we do?" Ben asked?

"We wait" Haslan said. "We wait for Joseph to get better while we enhance your powers."

Half an hour passed. The longest 30 minutes Katherine and Ben had ever experienced. Joseph was in a hospital bed behind curtains with doctors checking to him; Haslan with a group of scientist and their morphers, trying to boost the power. So far they had heard nothing. Finally a doctor walked over to them.

"He's going to be fine" he said kindly and Katherine sighed with relief.

"When can we see him" Ben asked.

"Oh, I'd say he would come to in a few minutes, so you go in there now."

"Thank you" Katherine said with a smile and she and Ben went past the doctor into the small secluded area where Joseph was lying. They found a seat and waited, said nothing as they watched him. After a few minutes he began to stir. Katherine took his hand gently and after another minute his eyes opened in a small line.

"Hey guys" he mumbled, barely audible.

"Hey man" Ben said, trying to sound casual. He did a poor job.

"Are you okay?" Katherine asked worried.

"I've been better" Joseph said with a grimace as he adjusted himself in the bed. "But I'll live." For a moment they were all quiet, only the continuous beeping of various machines penetrated the silence. After a few minutes, Joseph prompted the question: "Did we get it?"

Ben hesitated a moment, then: "No." Another pause. "Right after you got knocked out, Golzor appeared. We had to run in order to safe you."

"So what do we do now?" Joseph asked resignedly.

"Haslan and some technicians are working on our morphers" Katherine answered. "Something about increasing the power in them."

"They can do that?" Joseph asked surprised.

"Seems so" Ben said. "But until they are done, there's nothing we can do but wait."

"Then let me inform you that the waiting is over." The three teenagers all looked startled in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, it was Haslan. The old man had a kind smile on his face; a smile only matched by the kindness in his eyes. "We are done with the morphers. We estimate that you get about 2 minutes of extra power when you activate the boost."

"2 Minutes" Ben said disappointed. "That's not much."

"No, so you'll have to make the best of the time. Are you all ready?" He looked at each of them in turn.

"I'd love to go guys" Joseph said, "but I don't think I'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

"I wouldn't be so sure" Haslan said. "If I'm right, you only tried moving right after you awoke." Joseph nodded at the statement, confirming Haslan's beliefs. "Then you should feel fine now." Ben looked worried, but still tried to move out of bed. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt and his first few steps weren't even shaking. The others stared in wonder as Joseph thanked Haslan. "Thank me not, young warrior. Go to your battle instead. The people of your world need you. Once you reach the surface, we'll guide you to the monster."

"Great" Ben said. Then, readying his morpher, he asked the others: "Ready?"

"READY!" they both replied.

"Ancient Powers, ready to fight!" They dropped their right arm and lifted the left. The arms shifted places and as they passed by, the right were withdrawn. Then, with a sudden thrust, the gem in their hands was smashed into the morpher and after a second, the three teenagers had turned into Power Rangers. They ran off, saying their goodbyes in the process. Haslan looked after them and as they disappeared from his field of view, whished them the best of luck.

It didn't take long for the Rangers to make it back to the surface and back into town. The demon was easy to find. Chaos and destruction lay in its wake; scattered survivors fleeing in all directions. They followed Haslan's directions and soon they saw the monster a few streets ahead. The Rangers sped up and aimed for the Bodak. The noise from the bikes alarmed the Bodak and it turned around to face its attackers. But too late. The Rangers went past, one by one, slashing it with their weapons. The Bodak fell to the ground and the Rangers came to a screeching halt as they jumped off their bikes.

The demon got up and turned to face them. The Rangers were once again confronted with the void that was its face. "Not this time, pal" Joseph thought.

"You guys ready?" Ben asked.

"Oh yeah" Joseph said, hardly holding back the excitement. Not just the excitement of trying out their new powers, but to finally kick that grey demon's butt.

"Let's do it" Katherine agreed. All as one they pressed a button on their morphers. There came a small flash, then each of them felt something flowing through them. A power greater than they had ever felt.

"Wauw" Joseph said. "I feel like a million bucks!"

"Don't get to excited" Ben said. "There's a time limit on this thing, so let's take out, alright!" The yellow and blue Ranger nodded and the attack began.

Ben started running towards the Bodak at blinding speed. From Joseph's and Katherine's position, he seemed to be leaving behind copies of himself, while the real one rushed forward in a blur. The Bodak sneered at him and tried to stop him by throwing a punch his way. But Ben was too fast for it and grabbed its fist. Then, utilizing the power boost, flung the creature across his shoulder. The Bodak flew through the air and landed on its back, denting the asphalt. It sprung to its knees apparently unhurt. Joseph gasped but it couldn't be seen through the black visor.

Now the Bodak assaulted Ben. It ran forward, nearly as fast as Ben had done only seconds ago. It threw itself at Ben, jumping in order to slam down on him. But Ben was faster than the Bodak and back flipped out of harm's way, landing a good five meters away. The Bodak slammed into the road, making another dent. It got up, only to be met with three shot from Ben's blaster. It flew backwards and Ben ran towards it. Before it hit the ground, he slashed it once with his sword and finally wounded it.

Katherine was up next. The demon launched at her, but she dodged the attack easily. The demon kicked at her but Katherine repelled the attack with her lance. She jerked it up quickly, hitting the demon on the jaw. The blow was so severe that the mighty demon took a few, trembling steps back. Katherine slammed the dull end down in the ground and used the lance as an off-set to deliver a series of kicks in the stomach of the demon. It flew a little back and landed on the ground with a heavy thud and another dent. Within seconds, Katherine landed on the ground and swung the lance above her head, bringing the long side down on the demon.

Now Joseph took over. He rushed towards the fallen demon and delivered a powerful kick on impact. The demon was knocked into the air and Joseph slashed it with his elbow blades. The demon seemed to be shrieking in terror as its wounds grew graver and graver. Joseph punched it hard and the demon flew backwards into the front of a car, demolishing it. The demon struggled free, growled and launched at Joseph. But the blue Ranger dodged by jumping over the creature, slashing it in the process.

The Rangers grouped together and watched the demon as is struggled to get up. "Nice job" said Ben encouragingly to his comrades. "But it's not over yet. What do you say we blast it with the Mega Blaster?" The other Rangers nodded.

"Blue Knight Blades!" Joseph called and slammed the dull, straight sides together and formed a large, bow-like shape. After that, he threw the blade up in front of Benjamin and it hovered in the air.

"Yellow Knight Lance!" Katherine called split her weapon in three. Katherine threw every part at the combined elbow-blades and the pieces attached themselves underneath the blades, forming small cannons.

"Red Knight Sword!" Ben called, placing his sword on top of the weapon. Benjamin grabbed hold of the sword and the blades, Joseph supported the right side, while Katherine supported the left. "Atlantis Mega-Blaster" they shouted. "Fire!" An energy ball shot out from the weapon and flew towards the Bodak that barely had gotten to its feet. It tried to throw itself out of harm's way, but to no avail. The energy ball connected with the grey skinned demon and a large explosion ensued. The Rangers turned around victorious, as the explosion subsided, their enemy completely annihilated.

"Alright" Joseph said cheerfully. "We did it!"

"Don't celebrate yet, Rangers" a dark voice boomed. The Rangers turned around to face Golzor.

"What do you want, tin man?" Katherine asked. They had all taken battle positions.

"Don't mock me, you pitiful humans" Golzor answered. "But I'm not here because I want anything. I'm here by the request of Princess Wyrmina."

"Yeah, how is she, by the way?" Joseph asked with a smug smile. He imagined she was pretty upset. After all, failing three times in three tries should make anyone cranky.

"The Princess' state is none of your business" growled Golzor. "Quiser!" A slightly smaller, thin demon appeared. The Rangers recognised the tall demon immediately. He had been with Wyrmina and another smaller, fat demon the day they had become Rangers. "Do what you came here for" Golzor ordered and the demon hurried to where the Bodak had been destroyed.

"What are you doing?" Katherine asked as Quiser squat down. Slowly, he untied a satchel and sprinkled some dust on the demon's remains. He got up and hurried towards Golzor; where after both of them disappeared. The Rangers were baffled, but soon their attention was drawn towards the demon's remains. A wind started blowing, going straight towards the remains as if they were sucking it in. Then, the remains began to regenerate, reforming the creature to its full health.

"What's going on?" Ben asked worried.

As the demon seemed back to perfect health and the Rangers readied themselves for the fight, something strange happened. Suddenly, the demon grew. Its size increased tenfold and more, soon reaching the height of a tall apartment building. The giant Bodak shrieked its soundless cry and started trashing the immediate city area.

Ben grabbed his communicator right away. "Haslan, we got trouble. BIG trouble."

"What kind?" Haslan's voice sounded through the communicator. "Is it your powers?"

"Not exactly" Ben said. "The Bodak just got revived and grew to the size of a skyscraper!"

"Oh no" Haslan's voice sounded. "Wait right where you are, we will send help right away."

Far away from the Rangers, just outside Atlantis, five large machines rested. They all looked the same, with the exception of the colour. They were humanoid in origin, each resembling a large human. As the Atlantians activated them from within their city, they were slowly brought to life. The eyes of the red yellow and blue machine flashed and they slowly rose to their legs. The machines moved slowly at first; they had not been used for centuries and were now finally awoken. They struggled to rise from under the pressure of the water and the corals that had grown on them for centuries of sleep.

Finally, the machines rose to their legs, standing in their full height. Everywhere in Atlantis, people stopped and stared at the marvellous wonder. They had all heard that Haslan had chosen three outlanders to be the Atlantis Knights, but none of them had ever thought they would see the day when the ancient fighting machines would rise again. They stared in amazement as the three fighting machines slowly bend down in their knees, only to exert a force so powerful that it not only shot them out of the water in a tall jump, but also caused tremors throughout the city.

As the machines landed on the ground again, they started moving towards Golden Springs. They crossed hills and plains, forests and mountains, all in a matter of minutes. Finally, the three machines reached Golden Springs. The citizens were in panic, as the giant grey demon was on a rampage throughout the city and the Rangers powerless to stop it.

The giant Bodak was about to destroy another building with a swing of its great arm. But just before impact, the arm was grabbed by the red machine, the yellow grabbed the other and together they threw it backwards, out of town.

"Wauw, look at that!" Joseph exclaimed.

"What are those?" Katherine asked in wonder.

"I don't know, but I think it's the help Haslan promised" Ben answered, with the same face of disbelief as his friends.

"You are right, Ben" Haslan's voice sounded. "These are you Defender Zords, ancient fighting machines built millennia ago. And now they are yours to command."

"Alright!" Joseph shouted out in excitement. "But, eh... How do we do that again?"

"First things first, my young friends" Haslan said with a chuckle. "First, you must go to your Zords. I believe they have taken the demon out of the city?" The Rangers confirmed and Haslan told them what to do. As the communication ended, the Rangers raced back to their motorbikes, and were soon on their way towards their new toys.

They found them on a rocky field, just south of the city. The demon had fought itself free from the grasp off the giant robots and was now trashing them mercilessly. The Rangers parked their bikes and consulted Haslan. He gave them their instructions and the Rangers did as they were told. Calling out the name of their Zord, the Zords withdrew from battle and landed in front of their Ranger.

Benjamin took point and jumped through the air. When he reached the height in which the head was, he turned around, crossed his arms across his chest and was drawn in through the face of the machine. "Benjamin, for your natural leadership and great combat skills, you are given command of the Red Defender Zord." It was King Haslan who communicated through the morpher. "Use its power to right the evil however you can."

Next up was Katherine. She too jumped high into the air and spun around when she reached the height of the head. With her arms crossed above her chest, she too was sucked into the head of the machine. "Katherine, for your speed and cunning, you receive control of the Yellow Defender Zord" Haslan said to her. "Use its dexterity and strength to achieve your goal."

Now the turn had come to the blue Ranger. Joseph jumped high into the air and when he reached the height in which the head was, he too turned around, crossed his arms across his chest and was drawn in through the face of the machine. "Joseph, for your agility and nimble spirit, you are rewarded with the Blue Defender Zord" Haslan's voice sounded through the communicator. "Its agility will serve you well."

Once inside, Joseph opened his eyes. In front of him was a variety of buttons, more than he had ever seen before at any one control panel and all of them were shining in a myriad of colours. Something that resembled a joystick stuck up in the middle of the control panel and Joseph had an instinctive feeling it was meant to control the Zord. To his left and right were similar panels, each with their own buttons, lights and measurement apparatuses. As he looked at the panels, he caught a glimpse of the leather chair he was sitting in. How he had not noticed it before was beyond him.

"Alright Rangers, you ready?" Ben's voice sounded through the Zords' communication relay.

"Let's see what these things can do" Katherine's voice sounded through the speakers.

"Oh, yeah!" Joseph cried out.

From out of the visor on the Zord, Joseph saw Ben manoeuvre his Zord into position. He launched an attack, and the enlarged, mechanical humanoid moved a large metallic arm towards the giant, grey demon. It hit and the demon was thrown back. Katherine's Zord caught it and jumped into the air, holding the Bodak tight. At the peak of the jump, she threw the Bodak to the ground. It crashed with a mighty bang, causing a small crater.

Now Joseph used the joystick to move into position. He picked up the Bodak and, holding it in his Zord's left hand, punched it three times with his right arm, the final blow being so powerful that it knocked the Bodak away. It flew through the air and ploughed its way through the ground. The Rangers lined up looking at the Bodak.

"These things are pretty neat" Joseph said enthusiastically.

"Yeah" Katherine agreed. "I don't think I've ever seen so much power in one thing."

"There powerful alright, but we still need to finish it off" Ben said seriously.

"Right!" the other agreed and turned their attention back to where the Bodak had landed. But the giant grey demon had disappeared.

"Where did it go?" Joseph cried out. "It was there a second ago!" Then suddenly, Joseph felt a sudden jerk and fell out of his seat and hit the floor as his Zord fell to the ground. The others turned around but there was nothing to see. Joseph got back in his seat but as he tried to get up, a sudden force knocked him back down again. "What's happening?" he shouted as he was knocked down again.

"The Bodak must have become invisible again when we weren't paying attention" Ben said over the relay.

"So how do we find it?" Katherine asked as Joseph got up again.

"These things must have some sort of scanning device" Joseph said and right away, a scanner appeared on the control panel. A small dot appeared on the radar. "What do you know, there was" Joseph said and explained it to them. "Now we just need to find a way to see it."

"Maybe there's a setting on the visor that allows us to see heat signatures?" Katherine suggested. And as it had happened for Joseph, as soon as she uttered her request, the visor changed. It took on a darker shade, nearly concealing all of her surroundings. She looked around carefully. At first, she could see nothing, then turned towards Benjamin. A large heat signature appeared in front of Ben.

"BEN, LOOK OUT!" Katherine shouted and realised how futile the warning was. The signature, the Bodak, kicked Ben's Zord in the chest. It fell over and landed on the ground with a loud bang. "Everyone, switch to your heat visor. It allows you to see the enemy!" Instantly, Ben and Joseph switched their visors, so they too could see the enemy. Now it would be easier to avoid the attacks.

Or so the Rangers thought. Ben got up and back into his seat, grabbed the joystick and tried to manoeuvre himself into a more favourable position and attacked. But the Bodak moved out of range, more nimble than the Zord could keep up. Ben tried again, but the Bodak eluded his attacks. The others tried to attack to, but the Bodak was too fast for them.

"It's no good" Ben said frustrated. "We're too slow."

"We can't react quickly enough" Katherine added. "No matter what, we're always one step behind."

"Would be easier if they reacted to our moments instead?" wondered Joseph out loud.

"Sure" Ben replied. "If they reacted to our movements, then we should be able to match him."

Then, something neither of the teenage Rangers would ever have thought off happened. "Neural interface, initiated." The control panels retracted into the floor and walls. The Rangers had to jump off their chairs as they withdrew into the floor as well. "Neural interface, complete" came the computer's voice again. "Combat mode, engaged." The room the Rangers were in, which Joseph now thought on as the control room, was completely bare with the exception of the Rangers in the rooms.

"I'm starting to like these things" Ben said, then focused on the Bodak. Its heat signature was still present on the screen and the three Rangers closed in on it. The Bodak launched a wide attack, a kick that would wipe the three giant robots off their feet. The Rangers jumped and the robots did the same, thus avoiding the attack. "Alright" Ben said. "These things react exactly the way we would."

With this in mind, the Rangers launched an offence. Ben closed in and punched the Bodak, but it avoided the blow by stepping back, right into the arms of the Yellow Defender Zord. Katherine grabbed it again and threw it over her shoulder into the ground. Joseph and his Zord jumped into the air and landed a punch, right in the middle of the Bodak's upper body. It shrieked its soundless shriek in pain again.

"Alright, let's finish it off" Ben said.

"But how?" Katherine asked.

"If the Zords react to our thoughts and actions, then maybe they react when we call our weapons to" Ben said.

"It's worth a try" Joseph agreed.

"Alright, here goes. Red Knight Sword!" Ben called out and his sword appeared in his hands. Outside, a lightning came down from the otherwise clear sky and hit Ben's Zord's right hand, and a sword, similar to Ben's own, appeared in it. "Alright, he's going down!" Ben said. "Red Knight Slash!" The Zord raised the sword high above its head and brought it down on the defenceless Bodak. The sword passed right through the demon, which exploded in a gigantic explosion.

"Let's hope we got him this time" Joseph said as the explosion subsided to a small fire.

"Augh!" The shouting belonged to a furious Wyrmina. Lightning bolts were flying through the air, both outside the castle under the cloudy sky and inside as well, from Wyrmina's fingertips towards anything that got in her way. "Why did it fail?"

Quiser and Golzor said nothing. "I think it was because the Rangers used those giant machines to defeat it" Fuboon said in his deep, stupid voice. Wyrmina shrieked and fired a cascade of lightning from her hand, aimed at Fuboon. The poor demon was shocked and flew backwards through the throne room.

"You promised me that the Rangers would be vulnerable to an attack" she yelled at Quiser.

"Technically, I never did promise that the demon would be successful" Quiser said in an attempt to excuse himself. But Wyrmina cared not for his excuses and sent a lightning bolt at him. Quiser flew through the room and landed on top of Fuboon.

"The next time the Ranger's won't be so lucky" Wyrmina hissed.

Benjamin, Katherine and Joseph were standing outside the Youth Centre. The Zords had been called back to Atlantis and the teens had powered down to their civil clothes. Sarah and Travis were still sitting at the table as they had done nearly an hour ago when the trio had first left them. As the three teens entered the main room of the centre, Travis and Sarah greeted them. They sat down and the bartender took their orders.

"Where did you all go off to?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Didn't we tell you..." Joseph said reluctantly. "We..."

"Hey guys, look at this" the bartender said, turned the television a little closer to them and turned up the volume.

"_It is still unclear what exactly happened in down town Golden Springs today_" a reporter said. He was standing in the part of town where the monster had attacked. "_As you can see behind me, people were hurt, cars were destroyed, trees uprooted and the road has been completely torn up in several places. Had it not been for the efforts of the Power Rangers, who know what would have happened?_" The reporter was quiet for a moment as the camera showed the destruction the monster had caused. "_This is Julie Kendark, GSNews._"

"They are pretty amazing, those Power Rangers" the middle-aged bartender said as he turned the volume back down.

"Yeah" the teens all agreed, and went back to their conversation.

"What was your question again?" Katherine asked Sarah.

"Nothing important" Sarah said as she shook her head. For the duration of the afternoon, the five teenagers hung out, taking turns at each other on the training field.

* * *

About the title, "Some Zord of Trouble" was my initial title to the Chapter/Episode and it's what I've struck with. Other possible titles include "A Big Problem" and other ideas, hinting at Zords. I mean, it was about time, right? We're three Episodes in tot he story (they've been Rangers for 2½-3 weeks for those who wishes to keep count) and only now they get Zords?

The following is a copy/paste from my document:

[It's funny. First, I wanted this chapter to start off with Benjamin and Travis, but I didn't feel like given Benjamin all the screen time. Instead, I'll try and focus on the different protagonists for a few chapters, then eventually centring on Benjamin, unless something important happens to another character in the chapter. Why Benjamin, you might ask. Well, basically, I feel that since he's the leader, he is the "_main_" main character. As a result, the first 2000 words weren't even in the original outcast.

As for Joseph's miss talking, it was actually me who forgot that Travis don't know. So I'm really the one to blame for his mistake. But I think I saved it nicely. Sure I could have deleted it, but I can work with this in a later chapter.

Like said, I wanted to start off with an entirely different setting, thus following the chapter from an entirely different point-of-view. The following is a rough idea from my brain (take caution: Insanity alert). Start with Benjamin and Travis talking in a break. They talk about their club and about the new girl who started there (? – maybe they didn't see her?). They agree to meet at the youth centre after school to train. Ben then runs into Katherine and Joseph, asking them to join him and Travis. They agree and meet up there later. Since Tray isn't out yet, Benjamin practises with Joseph, trying to teach him more. Sarah watches them from a distance. Having just moved to town, she knows no one. Travis arrives and the two teens spar. After a little while, Sarah comes over and wants to fight them. The boys agree and lose.

Okay, that's the starting setting. Now, as Pinkranger pointed out, when Rangers fall, they usually fall out of their Zord. Well, here's my theory: My theory goes, that the blow has to be severe to enough to really damage the Zord and that thy are then ejected before they can be hurt. And this blow wasn't strong enough to really damage the Zord, hence the "minor" tremor.]

But anyways, that's just me. You don't have to agree with me, but it is how it's going to work. Now, what more... Oh, right, I remember. As for the Episodes; Originally I imagined that there would be one per week, at least up until Christmas (story Christmas, not our - there's no way I can spit out 20-23 quality pages in a week over an exxtended period of time. Not yet at least). I've done some math. There's four weeks between every full moon. There's five Gargoyles remainging, waiting to be filled. 4*5=20 Episodes. I'm thinkin about cutting it down to only three Episodes a month (story months) making it 15 Episodes. But for now, I'll stick with about 20 to go. Already, I'm a little off with the moon, but I hope you'll forgive me for the sake of the story. As far as I can tell we should be in start September (I think I made a reference to the month in the last Episode, but I can't seem to find it) so I should be able to pull it off, though a moon rotation will be closer to 25 days, rather than 28-29. But again, Stephen King could pull it off deliberatly in a book (can't recall the title) so why shouldn't I be able to, eh?

That should be all from me this time. I know it was a lot to take in, and if any of you actually read all this, make sure to get something to drink, lest you want to pass out from dehydration. Until next time, see ya.


	4. Chapter 4: A Power Boost

Finally. It feels good to get this chapter up, though I'll admit I had hoped it would be up before Christmas. But does it really matter? Let's just get started, shall we?

This chapter is dedicated to pinkrangerforever for helping me with my grammar and spelling, as well as constructive critique. I also dedicate this chapter to my girlfriend, for being supportive as well as a source of inspiration, even when we broke up. This one's for both of you.

* * *

**Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights.**

Power Rangers. Atlantis! (5 sec melody)

Ancient powers with ancient ways.

Coming to our world today.

Powers of Water, Power Unite.

Come and face this evil tonight. (4 sec pause)

Ancient evils awaken anew.

Only you can stop their crew.

Heroes come to save the day.

Power Rangers come our way. (4 sec pause.)

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Atlantis Knights… GO!

* * *

_Previously on Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights:_

"Eons ago, an evil entity known as Wyrmina attacked the Earth. A few, brave Atlantians stood against her and sealed her in a sarcophagus at the expanse or their own lives. The Atlantians sank their city to the bottom of the sea to avoid interference with the outside world. But now, 4000 years later, three teenagers, Benjamin, Katherine and Joseph, have unaware awakened her.

Haslan: "You must promise, never to tell anyone that this place exists."

Ben: "We promise to keep your secret."

Guard: "It's Wyrmina, sir. She's escaped. She is attacking a nearby city. Golden Springs."

Rangers: "Ancient Powers, ready to fight!"

The Rangers defeated Wyrmina who retreated to her castle. Over the following weeks, they made new friends.

Ben: "Joseph, Katherine, this is my friend Travis."

Sarah: "I'm Sarah"

But the Rangers had no idea what was going on at Wyrmina's castle, as she waited for the Gargoyles to be filled.

* * *

**Episode 4: A Power Boost**

It was early morning as the first rays of sunshine snuck in through Katherine's window. She turned around half-conscious, trying to hide from the sun and go back to sleep. She felt her consciousness slip away and smiled as she returned to her dream. But the peace was fragile. Just as the last drop of awareness left her mind, her alarm clock ringed and tore her from her dreams. She sat up, sleepy and confused, until she realised what was making that ringing noise. She looked at her alarm clock, an old fashioned alarm clock, which shone brilliantly in the early sun.

Katherine sent the clock a look that would have killed anything mortal and disabled the noise. She yawned and stretched, trying to get her body to wake up. A struggle she would rather have lost were it not for the days plan. She was to meet the group downtown in order to go around town, and eventually find somewhere to have lunch. As Katherine thought it over, she realised just how little of a plan that actually was. Knowing there was nothing she could do about it now, she got out of bed. She walked over the blue carpet to her closet where she found some clothes, among others a yellow T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She grabbed a towel as well and headed out to the restroom for a bath.

About 20 minutes later, Katherine exited bathed and fully dressed. Her blond hair was wrapped in a towel to dry. She went downstairs and made her way through the mansion to the kitchen. No one was there. At first this confused her, since her father would usually sit at the table with his laptop, preparing something for work. The she remembered that her father was on a business trip and her mother had tagged along.

With nothing to do in the mansion on her own, she decided to have a quick breakfast and then leave. And in less than half an hour, Katherine had achieved her objective and was out of the door. Locking everything up behind her, she took her bike and rode down the long driveway. She passed through the gates, greeting the guard on her way, and continued towards the outskirts of Golden Springs. She soon came to the house where the family resided on workdays, Katherine's favourite. It was a lot smaller than the mansion, but still a large house compared to the average. It was more common, more regular and Katherine preferred it over the mansion.

She continued on her way towards the centre of town. Despite the fact that autumn was just around the corner, the weather still hung on to the heat that was summer. The sun shone from a crystal blue sky and Katherine halfway regretted that she hadn't worn shorts instead. As she came ever closer to the city centre, she could not help but notice all the destruction that Wyrmina and her gang had caused in the last month. Cars were still damaged, roads dent and destroyed and people had begun living in fear of the next attack. At least the major had reacted swiftly after the last attack, when it became evident that the battle would last a while.

About a week ago, the major had announced that he would organise a helping organisation. The purpose of this organisation was to help the citizens that suffered from Wyrmina's attack. The corps was made up by volunteers and no one was too young, or old, to help. Some helped rebuild the homes that were damaged; others provided food for the workers and so forth. Even with all the destruction, it was good to see how the disaster had brought people together.

Katherine recalled a conversation she had with her father, only days before the major's statement. Her father and herself had been sitting at the dinner table when she had asked why the major hadn't done anything yet to ease the suffering. They had debated the subject, until her father gave in. He promised to ask the major and to fund the corps.

Waking from her daydream, Katherine realised where she was and got of her bike. She had already reached the city centre and placed her bike up a wall. She looked around the plaza, trying to spot her friends. It was still an early Saturday for most people, so only few roamed the streets. The plaza was made up by cobblestones with a large spring in the middle. On the northern end was the city-hall. A few trees were planted in an attempt to bring a little atmosphere to the streets. She couldn't find her friends and sat down on a nearby bench to wait.

The minutes passed by as the sun slowly ascended the sky. Katherine looked at her watch and sighed. It would still be another 20 minutes before the others showed up. Katherine cursed herself for being so early and wished she brought along a book. She leaned back and looked up at the blue sky. A few birds were drifting lazily on the slow currents and Katherine fixed her gaze on them. As least they were providing her with more entertainment than the small crowd in the plaza.

She sat like this, leaned back, staring into the sky for what seemed like a long time. She felt relaxed, sitting like this in the open, without a care in the world. For a moment she even forgot that she, Ben and Joseph had been fighting monsters every week for the past month now. Katherine closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"... said to him: "Do you really think I'll fall for that" and he was like..." Chatter from what sounded like a crowd of teenage girls reached Katherine ears. At first she thought nothing of it and just wanted to drift off again. The chatter went on and on, until suddenly it stopped. Katherine sent a silent prayer to God for the silence. "Katherine?" This time Katherine opened her eyes in response and looked towards the sound. She had been right, it was a crowd of teenage girls, only she hadn't recognised the voices. It was the same group that controlled what Katherine had dubbed "The Money Club" in the High School. She sighed again and let her head fall back down, not caring when it hit the wooden bench's backrest.

"Oh my God" one of them said. "We haven't seen you in school at all."

"It's like you just, disappeared or something" another took over. They went on and on. Katherine wished that she was anywhere but on that bench at that time.

"Say, why don't you go shopping with us" the lead girl, Marilyn, suggested. Katherine opened her eyes in shock at the thought of the horror she would be put though.

"Thanks, but no thanks" she said carefully as she eased her head back into a normal position. "I've already made plans with some friends, so I can't go."

"Do they have money?" Marilyn asked, occupied with checking out her nails.

"Not in the same way that your group and I do, but..." Katherine started slowly but was cut off by Marilyn.

"Then forget about them" she said, still occupied with her nails. "If they don't have money, you can't afford to socialize with them. Therefore, you should go with us."

"But..." Katherine objected but Marilyn simply waved her off.

"It's settled then" she said, evidently not having heard anything Katherine said. "Let's go girls." The group began to move but Katherine kept sitting on the bench. Marilyn hadn't walked ten metres before turning around and looked directly at Katherine. "Well, are you coming?"

Katherine looked around in a state near panic, trying to locate her friends but to no avail; they were nowhere in sight. Reluctantly, Katherine got up and walked towards the group.

"Hey Kate, what's up?" Katherine's ears tensed at the sound of her nickname. There were only few persons who called her that and she had a good feeling that she knew exactly who it was.

"Joseph!" she exclaimed in a happy tone as she turned around. And just as she hoped; behind her stood her short, good humoured friend.

"Did you forget you had plans with us today or did you just get a sudden urge to go with the Money Group Incorporated?" Joseph jested.

"Well, at least we _have_ money", Marilyn said, stressing the word have. "That's more than what I can say about you."

"Ouch", Joseph said with a grin, putting his right hand on his heart. "I feel so hurt."

"Please, Katherine" Marilyn said, now ignoring Joseph's jokes. "Don't tell us that you're going with him and the other losers?"

"You can call them what you want" Katherine said. "But yes, Joseph and the others are the ones I'm going to hang out with."

"Hmpf" Marilyn snorted. "Suit yourself." With this, she and the group walked off.

"Goodbye" Joseph said smiling as he waved at them. He turned to Katherine. "Saved you in the nick of time, eh?"

"Yeah" Katherine said and breathed lightly again. "Wyrmina's constant attacks I can take, but shopping with those girls, no thanks." Joseph laughed and they sat down and waited for the other three teenagers.

* * *

On the vast, desolate, bare plains that were the surroundings of Wyrmina's castle, the never ending thunderstorm was still going strong. The fierce gales were so strong that any mortal who found himself in these winds would surely perish from the gusts. Lightning bolts tore through the sky as were they trying to tear the clouded heaven asunder.

Wyrmina felt all this as she stood on the top of one of the towers, surrounded by the gargoyle statues. Though they were just statues, their vivid design made them seem almost real; an idea that were further fuelled by the fact that one of the statues were standing on its hind legs with its wings spread out from its body and arms stretched towards the sky. Four of the others were sitting down on their legs, while supporting themselves on their forearms. Their wings were folded in on their bodies. Wyrmina then turned her attention to the last gargoyle, a mix between the five others. It was not fully standing on its legs just yet, but within the last 24 hours it had risen significantly. It would be completely filled once the full moon rose over the bare, twisted landscape.

Satisfied with the situation, Wyrmina made her way down the long, spiral staircase and soon arrived at the base of the tower. She crossed the castle yard, ignoring the howling wind and thunderous fury. Her mood was better than it had been in a long time. After all, she was now one step closer at fulfilling her plan. She reached the entrance to the castle, standing before the massive double doors. With a flick of her hand the doors flew open and Wyrmina strode in, her black, leather-coated boots echoing on the bare marble. The main hall of the castle was majestic, the ceiling stories above, mighty columns holding it in place. On the walls were pictures of famous demon generals and emperors, amongst them her father's picture. But Wyrmina ignored them all, cared nothing for the castle decor.

She entered a hallway that lead to the other end of the castle. At the end she opened a door and proceeded down another set of spiralling stairs. Her boots echoed louder now, here in an enclosed area. Finally, she reached the end of the staircase and walked through the arch, into a library.

The first thing that struck her as she entered was the intense heat. She was heat resistant as part of her heritage, but she still felt the overwhelming heat. She looked around and saw the source of the heat; a fair amount of large fireplaces, located along the sides of the room. Each fireplace was cleared in a few metres radius, ensuring that none of the important and rare documents and books would be damaged. It was impossible to get a complete overlook of the room, as bookshelves twice her height blocked her view on most sides. Wyrmina knew nothing of the system or the order and cared not; she was here for another reason.

She began her search through the enormous library. She had not been here before, though she had lived in the castle 4000 years ago. The place was a maze and Wyrmina soon lost patience. She let out a mighty roar, a roar that echoed through the room. Somewhere in the room she could hear a reaction and headed towards the sound.

Soon she found Quiser, her more intelligent follower, buzzing around. His figure was clad in robes, making it impossible to distinguish most of his features. He ran from shelf to shelf, bookcase to bookcase, taking a document here, a book there and carried it all to the table he apparently had been sitting at only moments prior.

"What have you found?" Wyrmina asked with honest curiosity, but her voice demanded an answer.

Quiser put down the last few books on the table and started. "Uhmm... I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?" Wyrmina asked, her voice booming a little. "You've had a week and you're not sure?"

This time, Quiser quivered a little but managed to respond calmly. "No, my princess. I've found references to _it_." Wyrmina's eyes flared and Quiser explained. "I have found _it_ mentioned in legends and histories, but I have no solid evidence yet."

Wyrmina growled but knew there was nothing she could do. Checking the entire library alone would take a long time, but there was no one else who could do it. Golzor was busy training the imps and Fuboon... Well, Fuboon would simply mess it up. "And what of the Rangers?" she said as she calmed down a bit. "Have you come up with a way to destroy them?"

"I'm afraid not" Quiser replied.

"Were it not for your expertise I would fry you where you stood. Gah! Where's Fuboon when you need him?"

She turned to leave and Quiser hurried after her. They made their way to the spiral stairs that lead away from the library and as they were about to ascend, they heard a noise coming from above, a noise that sounded like a pair of small, chubby feet, scurrying to get something done. Wyrmina smirked, knowing exactly what would happen.

Soon a small, chubby blue demon appeared in the arch. He was panting from running all the way and shouting despite his lack of breath. "Quiser! Wyrmina! There's something..." CA-CRACK! A purple lightning bolt had left Wyrmina's finger tips and blasted Fuboon, who in turn had fallen over.

"That was better" Wyrmina said smugly as Quiser bend down to check on his friend. His stupid companion was lying down, his eyes staring up at something only he could see. Quisor woke him up and asked what he wanted.

"I forgot" Fuboon said slowly, then, seeing Wyrmina prepare another blast, gave his memory a quick jolt. "Now I remember. Golzor said he wanted to see you and send me down here to get you."

"Well, why didn't you say so sooner?" Wyrmina snarled and strode by him up the stairs. Quiser helped Fuboon to his feet and they followed Wyrmina in silence. As the spiralling stairs ended they found themselves in the hallway Wyrmina had passed through only minutes prior. Fuboon led the way on his clumsy, small feet, directing them nervously. As they arrived at their destination they were greeted by Golzor, the general of Wyrmina's army. His dark armour was lined with golden strings, forming unique and oddly beautiful patterns and covered both the upper and lower body. His helmet had the same pattern and seemed to be one full set of armour.

"Ah, my princess. It is good to see you well." His voice was obedient and charismatic, yet he could scarcely hide the true nature of his mockery.

"Save your flattering" Wyrmina hissed back in the same tone. Though Golzor was a loyal general, and obedient, he was still, first and foremost, her father's general. "What do you want?"

"I think I may have come up with a plan to destroy the Rangers."

"Tell me" Wyrmina said, her eyes showing her eagerness to destroy the three Rangers.

"So far, you've been relaying on the power of one gargoyle" Golzor started. Wyrmina waved him on, seeing as that was old news. "With the second gargoyle almost filled, it is time to call in stronger monsters. Therefore, I suggest: The Cyclops."

"Not the Cyclops" Fuboon said scared. "Anything but him. He..."

"SILENCE!" Wyrmina shouted, looking directly at Fuboon. Her eyes glowed red and her tongue had once again split in two. "Unless you want to be blasted into the next millennia, I strongly suggest that you keep your mouth shut!" Then she turned to face Golzor. "Why him?"

"You may not recall his power, my princess, but it is formidable; more than a match for the Rangers."

"Are you sure?"

"You have my word" Golzor said with a bow.

Wyrmina grunted and signalled her henchmen to follow. They did so silently; Golzor walking as straight as a disciplined soldier, Quiser followed in a marching stride and finally Fuboon, who walked slowly after the others, quivering with fear for the Cyclops. They wound up in the room where Quiser had been summoning demons for the past month. The small room was a mess; everywhere, books and papers lay scattered. A fireplace adorned with carvings of dragons illuminated the room, and on the table were unlit candles. Wyrmina turned to Quiser and ordered him to summon it.

Quiser prepared himself, found the formula and recited the spell. As he begun the chant a small, pulsating, purple light appeared. As Quiser proceeded through the spell, the light grew in size and intensity, soon it was a small hole, then a man-sized tunnel to another dimension altogether. Wyrmina called out the Cyclops' name and it appeared through the tunnel. A sudden gust left the gate as more matter was introduced to reality. Wyrmina pushed a straw of dark hair away from her eyes and looked at the demon.

The Cyclops was more than two meters high, taller than any of Wyrmina's group. Even Golzor dwarfed at the sheer size of the Cyclops. Its skin was a hue of grey, its bulky muscles showing an inhuman strength, a strength it needed to hold the giant, wooden club in its hand. The beast wore what seemed like leather armour, which covered both its upper and lower body. Its teeth showed; strong and relentless, biting through anything the jaw could get a hold of. But the most notable feature was its eye. Rather than having two eyes as normal humanoids would, the Cyclops had but one located in the middle of its forehead.

"Is he as strong as you say?" Wyrmina asked Golzor while measuring the Cyclops with her eyes.

"He is" Golzor said with certainty in his voice. "Perhaps you would like a demonstration?"

"Please, my princess, not in here" Quiser begged. "If that... ruffian, destroys my book and papers, we won't be able to summon more monsters."

"Good point" Wyrmina said unaware. She hadn't been paying attention to Quiser's pleadings, as her mind was occupied with the immense strength of the Cyclops. "Golzor, take the Cyclops and a squadron of imps and go to Golden Springs. We will show these pesky power Rangers, just who's the strongest."

"As you command, my princess."

* * *

An hour had passed since Katherine had had an unfortunate encounter with Marilyn and her gang. Now she was with her friends and having a good time. They had started with some of the local outdoor shops, getting some practical clothes for an upcoming field trip. After the shops, they had simply walked around the city, enjoying the warm weather. The five teenagers were looking for a place to eat, when suddenly a myriad of screaming people came running from around a corner.

"What's going on Ben asked one of the fleeing persons.

"M... Mo... Monster!" he studded and threw himself away from Ben's grasp.

"What do we do?" Katherine asked. All three Rangers knew that they couldn't just rush in to action, not with Travis and Sarah there.

"We help" Travis said and darted head first down the corner. The remaining four teens looked at each other, shrugged and followed their friend. They pushed themselves past fleeing people and made it down to where they found Travis as well as a well known opponent.

"Welcome, puny humans" a dark armoured man said.

"What do you want?" Ben asked.

"You have no right to question me, mortal" the demon said. "But if want to know, I've come to introduce him!" At this, another, larger demon appeared. Its skin was grey and its muscles bulky. Its arms were as thick as the trees that grew in the streets. In its hand was a mighty, wooden club. It stared directly at the five teenagers with its only eye, a feature that made the five teens shudder. "This is the Cyclops" the armour-clad demon said. "With his power he shall surely crush this city." The demon gave a demonstration of its powers and destroyed a car by smashing it with its club a single time.

"We have to stop him" Sarah said. The others nodded.

"You won't do anything" Golzor said. "Because if you do, then who's to stop me from doing this!" He instantly fired a streak of purple lightning towards a group of children. The blast missed on purpose, but only by a few metres. "Next time, I won't miss."

"All right, here's the plan" Ben said. "Travis, Sarah, you'll get the children and everyone else to safety, then we'll keep those two occupied."

"Why?" Travis asked. "I'm a better fighter than either of those two. No offence."

"None taken" Joseph said, well-knowing that Travis was right.

"Just trust me, Travis" Ben said. He knew Travis was right, but if they could hold out long enough for the others to get away, they could morph and beat it. Travis nodded reluctantly and he and Sarah ran towards the children. Golzor moved to intercept but Ben had foreseen it and blocked Golzor. "If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through me."

"That can be arranged, human" the man in armour said. Without warning Golzor attacked Ben who barely dodged. Golzor kicked at him with a mighty force. Ben couldn't avoid and was flung across the road.

"BEN!" Katherine called out.

"I'm fine" Ben said, but she could see that he wasn't. The blow wouldn't have hurt nearly as much in Ranger form, but Travis and Sarah were still around. She and Joseph watched with horror as Ben flung himself into what could be his downfall; a one-on-one match against Golzor without his Ranger powers. Ben charged and jumped into the air, only to deliver Golzor a flying kick on his chest. He stumbled back, if only a little, but it was enough for Ben to continue his assault. He landed and immediately made a roundhouse kick at Golzor, hitting him on the side of his head. Golzor cursed as the helmet was banged into his chin but otherwise seemed unaffected.

Ben was about to make another attack when Golzor grabbed hold of him. Holding him closer to him, Golzor whispered into his ear: "Don't hold back on me, Red Ranger." With this he threw him across the street again. Katherine and Joseph ran to his side and helped him up.

"What did he say?" Joseph asked.

"That we shouldn't hold back on him" was Ben reply.

Katherine looked over at where the children had been and to her delight found that neither the children or Travis and Sarah were still there. In fact, no one was anywhere in sight. "No one's here" she said.

"All right, let's morph." Ben, Joseph and Katherine threw on their morphers and grabbed the small gem. "Ancient Power, ready to fight!" they shouted as they moved their right hand with the gem down past the morpher and retracted the arm. All as one, they smashed the small gem into the morpher. As the gem merged with the morpher, they were enveloped in a bright, white light. It disappeared as soon as it had appeared and revealed their Ranger suits. The suit was in the colour of the Ranger and Katherine looked down on her yellow suit to see the familiar 'A' on the left chest. The helmet appeared right away and Katherine's field of vision was given a darker shade.

"Even in your morphed stage you are no match for the Cyclops" Golzor said. He then turned to the Cyclops and gave it a command: To destroy the Rangers no matter what. Before either Ranger could stop him, Golzor was gone and they were left with the brute.

The Cyclops roared, stomped on the ground and swung its mighty club, destroying yet another car. The Rangers readied themselves as the large, bulky demon charged against them. The ground shook with each step, making it impossible to maintain balance. The large demon tackled Benjamin who flew backwards into a building. Before Joseph or Katherine could do anything, the beast swung its free arm at them and flung them across the street.

Ben got up and charged at the Cyclops. He made a powerful kick at the right arm, using all his momentum to deliver power in the kick. But the large, bulky enemy did not seem to feel the attack at all. Ben tried again, this time punching his fists in its back but the big demon didn't budge. Frustrated, the Red Ranger jumped up and kicked the muscular demon in the back of its head. This provoked a reaction from the demon. It turned around, staring at Ben, its one eye filled with malice. Ben took a step back but it was too late. The demon's large arm was trusted forward and grabbed Ben by the throat. It lifted him in one arm effortlessly, laughing a deep, evil laughter. Ben struggled but it was no use; the demon had him in an iron grip.

Meanwhile, Katherine and Joseph had gotten up from the ground and could only watch helplessly as their friend was being choked. If their visors had been transparent, anyone could see the horror that characterised their faces this instant. "We've got to do something" Joseph said.

Katherine knew he was right, but had no idea of what to do. Ben, who was clearly the strongest of the group, could do nothing against it. "What about the blasters?" Katherine asked.

"Worth a shot" Joseph replied. They both drew their blasters at the same time, aimed and fired. A few laser blasts left the two blasters, some blue, others yellow. They flew fast and exploded on contact, but the creature seemed unharmed. It turned slowly, staring evilly at them with its one eye. "Uh oh" Joseph mumbled as the Cyclops let out a mighty roar and proceeded to throw Benjamin towards them. They caught him but fell over. "Well... This is familiar" Joseph said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, really?" Katherine said. "Are you thinking about the time in Atlantis, when we first met Golzor or maybe you're thinking about that strange, grey demon that sucked the life out of you two?"

"Either" Joseph replied, not able to hide a small grin.

"We don't have time for this" Ben said and got to his feet. The others staggered after. "I say it's time we bring in the big guns." The Red Ranger looked at the others who nodded. "Red Knight Sword!" he yelled and with a shimmer, a sword appeared in his hand. The blade was clear with a crimson glow, placed on a red hilt.

"Yellow Knight Lance" Katherine shouted and a long, yellow lance appeared in her hands. The lance had both a blunt end for crushing, as well as a sharp end with a foot-long blade that could cut through anything. On the lance was a golden pattern, circling up and down the lance.

"Blue Knight Blades" Joseph shouted and on his arms, two curving blades, both one and a half foot long. The metal blades were a deep shade of blue as well as the handles in his fists.

"Let's bring them together" Ben said and the others nodded. Joseph called the name of his weapons and slammed the dull, straight sides together and formed a large, bow-like shape. After that, he threw the blade up in front of Benjamin and it hovered in the air. Then Katherine called out hers and split her weapon in three. Katherine threw every part at the combined elbow-blades and the pieces attached themselves underneath the blades, forming small cannons. "Red Knight Sword!" Ben called, placing his sword on top of the weapon. Benjamin grabbed hold of the sword and the blades, Joseph supported the right side, while Katherine supported the left. "Atlantis Mega-Blaster" they shouted. "Fire!" An energy ball shot out from the weapon and flew towards the Cyclops. Gravity seemed to bend around the released energy and the Cyclops was unable to move. It connected and made a big explosion.

"And that's a wrap" Joseph said as they took their own weapons from the Mega-Blaster. The three Rangers looked at the explosions as it subsided. But the Cyclops was unharmed.

"You spoke to soon, Joseph" Katherine said. Joseph was about to make another witty remark, but the impending Cyclops attack stopped him. It came charging against the group of teens and in a single swoop with its giant club send the Rangers flying into the side of a building, sending shards of bricks and mortar flying through the air. The Rangers struggled to get up but the blow had hit them hard. The Cyclops was on a rampage again and was destroying everything in sight.

"It's no good" Katherine said. "There's nothing we can do."

"Our blasters and weapons are not working and our punching and kicking aren't facing it" Joseph added.

Benjamin gave a grunt, but he knew they were right. He also knew there was only one thing to do. "Let's get back to Atlantis" he said reluctantly. The three teenage Rangers got up and called for their bikes. As soon as they came they jumped up and raced to the abandoned church in the northern part of town and the gate to Atlantis.

* * *

"Gah!" Benjamin said as he slammed his fist into the blue-green coral walls in the hallways of Atlantis. The group had arrived only minutes prior and had already informed King Haslan of the events that had transpired in the town.

"I must admit that it is indeed problematic" Haslan said as he led the three Rangers towards the throne room. "I am at a loss as to your options."

"You mean you got nothing?" Joseph asked as they entered the grand throne room, with guards standing on all sides as well as the captain up at the throne.

"I'm afraid that is correct."

"So what do we do then?" Ben asked. "Sit around and do nothing while we wait for that thing to wear itself out?"

"With the energy it had left, I doubt it would ever wear itself out" Joseph remarked sombrely. The Rangers sat on the steps up to the throne, each with their own thoughts. There was silent in the room for what seemed like hours.

"I know" Joseph said. "How about the boosters?"

"To risky" Haslan said. "They were designed to give a two minute boost one time only. You might only have used them for half a minute a week ago, but who knows what stress it will put on your body. No, they should only be used when it is absolutely necessary."

"Well, dang" Joseph said and sunk back again. Another long, silent minute dragged by. Then suddenly, Katherine jerked up.

"The legend!" she nearly shouted. Haslan looked up at her with a curious, old face while her Ranger counterparts merely gave her an odd stare.

"Care to explain what you meant by that outburst?" Ben asked.

"It's easy" Katherine started. "When we first got here, Haslan told us that there were five Rangers who opposed Wyrmina. So far, we've been doing the best we could, just the three of us. Maybe it's time we brought in some reinforcements."

"Do you have somebody in mind?" Haslan asked intrigued.

"Yes, I do" Katherine said.

"Sir, I must object" the captain said in a stern voice. "It is bad enough that these three outlanders know about Atlantis. Now they wish to bring in more of their kind. At this rate it is but a matter of time before the secret is revealed to the world."

"Yes, I see your point, but what other options do we have?" Haslan asked back. "Wait several months before the guards can go through the portals and stop Wyrmina, who might be infinitely stronger by then? No, I believe that this is the right thing to do." He turned back to Katherine. "How do you propose to do this?"

"You just find the remaining two morphers and then we'll go find the two new Rangers."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Ben asked Katherine as they arrived on the surface behind the old, abandoned church. They were no longer morphed as per Katherine's request only minutes prior.

"We're going to find Travis and Sarah" she replied.

"What's that going to help?" Joseph asked.

"Does she really have to explain it?" Ben asked as her idea dawned for him. "She plans to make Travis and Sarah the last two Rangers."

"Oh!" Joseph said, trying to hide his surprise. "I knew that. So, any ideas of where to look?"

"My first feeling would be the youth centre, but with the monster attacking the city right now, who knows where those two will be?" Katherine answered.

"Hmm..." Ben mumbled. "I could try calling Travis, ask if Sarah was with him and ask them to meet us around here." Katherine nodded, and Ben reached for his phone in his pocket. He dialled the number and started talking the moment Travis picked up. "Hey Travis! It's Ben. Sarah with you? Good. Could you... We're fine, we're all fine, thanks. You guys? Good. Listen, could you meet us near the old church in the northern part of town? Yes, the one with crumbling walls. You'll be there soon, good. See you." Ben closed the connection and put away his phone. "They'll be here as fast as they can" he told the others. Then, he looked at Katherine and continued: "So I hope that you know how to convince them."

"I do" she said, trying to sound more convincing than she felt. She did not do a good job and her friends could easily tell.

Ten minutes passed by as the three teenagers waited in silence. They knew that every second they spend waiting was a second more the Cyclops had to attack the city. They knew not how the city fared without them, but they did know that it would fare a lot better with them. Finally, after what seemed like hours, a pinkish car came driving around the corner. It came to a screeching halt and Travis and Sarah jumped out.

"Here we are" Travis said, looking at his three friends who were all getting up.

"What are we doing here?" Sarah asked. "Why are you here? How did you get here? What happened back in the city after we left? What..."

"Easy, easy" Joseph said, half laughing at Sarah's endless stream of questions.

"We brought you out here, because there's something we need to tell you" Benjamin said.

"And for that we had to go all out here?" Travis asked sceptically. "What's the big secret, Ben?"

"You know how Wyrmina has been attacking the city for the past month?" Ben started and proceeded before they had a chance to respond. "And you know how the Power Rangers have been stopping her? Well, that's us. The three of us are the Power Rangers. We are responsible for Wyrmina's attacks and we swore to the Atlantians that we would defeat her."

"Heh, yeah right, and I'm Santa Claus" Travis said, smiling. "Joseph tried the same joke on me a week ago. I didn't buy it then, and I'm not going to now."

"You told him?" Katherine asked, staring furiously at Joseph for breaking their secret.

"Not on purpose" Joseph said, clearly uncomfortable under her gaze.

"But it's true" Ben said revealing the morpher. The electronic device was still on his arm with its black display both reflecting and absorbing the sun. Then, spontaneously, Ben morphed, and right there, in front of Travis' and Sarah's disbelieving eyes, stood the Red Ranger. "Now do you believe us?"

"Okay, so you're the Rangers" Travis said, trying to comprehend what was going on around him. "Then why aren't you in the city defeating that thing?"

"We already tried that" Katherine said. "But even in our morphed state he was to powerful and we wound up beaten up."

"But what do you need us for?" Sarah asked.

"4000 years ago, when Wyrmina first attacked Earth" Joseph said, picking up where his friends had left of "there were five Rangers who opposed Wyrmina. We are only three."

"But if you will join us" Katherine took over "we would be five and then we should be able to beat that Cyclops."

"So let me get this cleared up" Travis said, now sitting down. "You want us to become Rangers alongside you, fighting for the protection of human kind and the fate of the planet?"

The three Rangers looked at each other, then nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

Travis and Sarah looked at each other for a moment, then back at their friends. It was a lot to take in at once, but both of them had already made up their minds. Looking at each other again and finally back at Ben who was still morphed, they both gave a united "I'm in."

Katherine smiled and opened the gateway to Atlantis, gesturing for the others to go through. "This is a portal to Atlantis" she said as she saw their faces turn into question marks. "It'll instantly teleport you to Atlantis, wherever that is. All we know is that is lies deep under water, so you should prepare for a headache at first." With this, the three Rangers walked through and the newcomers followed carefully.

* * *

They all emerged in a small room that at first seemed to be some sort of storage facility. A second glance confirmed that. Everywhere, boxes and crates were stacked upon one another, containing God knew what. The walls seemed to be made of coral and had a strange colour combination of blue and green, intertwining in the most complex patterns and nuances. A single guard was in the room. He had to be a guard, after all, why else would he be equipped with armour similar in design to the walls and a long, crafty spear?

The guard led them through a series of corridors and hallways, until they finally arrived at the Throne Room. It was much grander than the little room from before, visibly so by its sheer size alone, to speak nothing of the decor. Travis and Sarah stared around in wonder as the other three teens walked up and kneeled before the King. They started to speak some strange language, where after the King ordered a small man, a servant probably, to give the two newcomers a small bean.

"It's a Lingubean" Katherine explained. "It'll make you capable of speaking and understanding Atlantian. It'll also remove the headache you're no doubt feeling." The two new teens didn't need another excuse to eat the wicked little bean.

"Uck" Sarah spat after eating it.

"Do you feel better?"

"A lot, thank you..." then she stopped. Looking frantically around, she asked: "Who said that?"

"I did" the man on the throne said with a soft smile. "My name is Haslan, and I am the King of Atlantis." Sarah and Travis walked up to the others and kneeled in respect as well. "Allow me to cut to the chase, as this is dire times indeed. As you know the city is under attack and though I have no doubt that the Rangers fought valiantly, their power alone was not enough. I assume you two are the ones Katherine was thinking about making Rangers, so let me ask you: Will you take it upon your shoulders, to stop Wyrmina at any price and to never tell anything of the events that transpires here?"

"Yes, sir" both of them said.

"Then accept these morphers." He gestured for the captain to walk closer, opening a small box. The King gestured at Travis and gave him the green morpher. "Though I do not know you, warrior, I sense great strength in you. Therefore you will receive the Green Aqua Morpher. It will add brains to your brawls, by allowing you to commune and completely hide in nature.

"You" he said as he proceeded to Sarah. "To you I grant the Pink Aqua Morpher. Your light spirits and small body will make it easy for you to ride the wind currents."

"You mean I can fly?" Sarah said, her eyes lighting up at the possibilities it presented.

"In a manner of speaking" Haslan chuckled, then he became serious again. "You all know the graveness of this situation. I trust that you three will teach them what they need to know during the battle. Now go. Time is of the essence, and I have a feeling that we have already wasted too much of it." The team, now consisting of five Rangers, began to walk towards the door. Before leaving the room, they heard Haslan wish them good luck.

* * *

Back in the city, the Cyclops was on a rampage. Everywhere it went; it left a trail of destruction. Trees were uprooted, houses lay in ruins and cars were burning. A thick smell of oil and burnt cloth was thick in the air. So far, many had been injured but with only few casualties. Those not immobilized by broken bones, car wrecks or other hindrances, were fleeing in terror as they tried to avoid being killed. They could not understand where their heroes were. The Power Rangers had been engaged with the monster earlier, but where were the city's protectors now in their hour of need?

Their prayers were about to be answered. The Cyclops was trashing the city plaza. The remaining citizens were either trapped or fleeing for their lives, when the Red, Blue and Yellow Ranger all appeared. The citizens were instantly relieved that the Rangers had come to safe them, but still fearing for their lives, those who could made their getaway. Soon, only the three Rangers and the Cyclops was left in the plaza, alongside a few hiding citizens.

"Halt it right there" Benjamin shouted at the one-eyed beast. It turned around at the noise and smiled a grim smile when it saw its playthings from before.

"Okay, we got its attention" Joseph mumbled. "Now what?"

"I don't really know" Ben replied. "I hadn't thought this far ahead."

"And just whose brilliant idea was it to make you our leader?" Katherine asked sarcastically.

"Haslan" Ben replied immediately. "So, you two have any great ideas?"

"I really thought you would have learned by now" a dark voice said, interrupting the Blue and Yellow Ranger before they could answer. "Last time you fought our beast, you almost died. Maybe he will get to finish the job this time."

"Golzor!" Ben spat, looking directly at the dark-armoured man.

"In the flesh" he said with what might have been a smile. It was hard to tell though, since his helmet covered all of his head. He was now standing next to the Cyclops. "But what can you possibly hope to accomplish, just the three of you?"

"Who said there were only three of us?" Joseph asked cocky.

"Heh" Golzor replied. "We've been attacking for a month now. If there were more of you, they would have shown by now."

"True" a male voice sounded behind Golzor. "Unless they were just added to the team." Golzor spun around and before him stood two Rangers, one wearing a green uniform, the other a pink. The uniforms were similar to the others, having a white, diamond-shaped pattern down the legs and a white 'A' on the left chest.

"More Rangers?" Golzor said surprised. Then his voice changed. "Heh, even the five of you won't be enough to bring down the Cyclops."

"We'll see, won't we?" Sarah said. Then, without warning, she lashed out at Golzor, but he dodged it nimbly and jumped to the top of a building.

"You guys deal with the demon" Ben said. "I'll handle Golzor."

"Right" the others said in unison and Ben chased after Golzor, who had started to make his getaway. The Red Ranger jumped up the same building that Golzor had been on before and gave chase across the rooftops. Jumping from roof to roof, he finally caught up with the armour clad demon. "Hold it" he shouted and Golzor turned around.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that" he said in his deep, low voice. "But you'll need more than persistence to defeat me. Demon Sword!" A black cloud formed, as Golzor called out the name of his weapon. Soon the cloud materialised into a long, dark blade. It glowed with a dark, purple light that soon dimmed, leaving only a faint glow of purple around the dark, metal blade. The golden handle rested in the demon's gloved hand.

Ben called his own sword and the crimson blade appeared in his hand. Golzor charged at Ben who jumped nimbly out of the way. Golzor slashed at him and hit Ben in his side. Ben crashed and rolled away. He got up and readied himself again, cursing himself for taking the blow. Golzor approached him again and made a horizontal swipe with his sword. Ben stepped back and swung his own sword upwards. Golzor jumped back and the two combatants stood a few meters apart.

The two of them began to circle around each other, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Golzor launched the first attack, a stab that would have pierced Ben's stomach had he not swiftly deflected the blow with his sword. Ben ran his sword up Golzor's blade, and made a swing as he neared the hilt. Golzor reacted, by swiftly raising his left arm and grabbed Ben's sword in mid-swing. With a mighty jerk, Golzor tore the Red Rangers sword from his hand and send it scatting across the rooftop. Golzor threw a punch and Ben had no choice but drop down and roll away. He grabbed his sword again and managed to raise it high enough to stop a crushing blow from above.

"This has gone on long enough" Ben thought. Mobilising all of his reserves, Ben pushed with all his might and send Golzor stumbling back. Ben got up and slashed at Golzor, who barely managed to block. Ben followed up with a kick with his left leg, but as Golzor moved to block it, stopped his leg and swung his sword instead, striking the armour clad opponent in the chest. Golzor lost his balance again and before he had a chance to regain it was knocked over by another strike. He looked up to find the Red Ranger looking down at him, pointing his sword directly at him. "Get out" he said. "Leave, and I'll spare you this time."

"And what about next time?" Golzor asked as he slowly got to his feet.

"I guess we'll just have to find out." Golzor nodded and slowly backed away, then disappeared in a bright, purple flash. "Now to get back to the others and help them take out that Cyclops."

* * *

The four Rangers watched their leader and friend leave to chase Golzor before turning their attention to the big, bulky Cyclops in the plaza.

"So, any ideas?" Sarah asked as she measured the grey-skinned muscle head in front of them.

"Not really, no" Katherine said. "We've tried kicking it, punching it, shooting it, hacking at it with weapons, blasting it, nothing works."

"Let me get this straight" Travis interrupted. "You've tried everything you can think of, nothing worked, and now you want us to risk our necks beating that thing?"

"Pretty much" Joseph answered.

"Okay. Just checking."

Suddenly, the creature lashed out at Travis and Sarah and all of them grew serious at once. The two new Rangers dodged the attack by a hairs breath. Travis threw a punch to retaliate, but even though he hit the beast in the stomach, it seemed unaffected. Sarah followed it up with a kick, but still to no effect. Both of them now landed punch after punch and kick after kick, but nothing seemed to affect it. With a wave of its arm, it knocked away the two, pesky Rangers.

Now Katherine and Joseph advanced at it from behind. Just as they were about to attack, the Cyclops turned around and knocked Joseph off his feet while Katherine barely dodged. The Yellow Ranger jumped and kicked at the Cyclops' head but it simply raised its left arm to take the blow. Before she landed, the Cyclops made a swing at the defenceless Katherine and shot her into a building. It turned to where it had knocked over Joseph, but the Blue Ranger was already up again. Before the Cyclops could react, Joseph drew his blaster and shot at it. The blue shots made contact, but the impact was little. A few steps back, if anything.

It raised its club again to smash at Joseph, when something hit it in the back. It turned around to see Sarah and Travis standing side by side, blasters drawn. Joseph wasn't late to react and shot it again, using the last energy in his blaster. The Cyclops roared in pain, at least now their attacks was making a difference. The Cyclops swung at Joseph who nimbly rolled under the swing and over to Travis and Sarah. Katherine followed him by jumping over the Cyclops.

"Okay, so now we're hurting it" Travis said. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

The creature let out another roar and smashed its club into a building, trashing the side. "Bad" the others said in unison.

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Any suggestions?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe" Katherine replied. "Now that we've actually hurt it with blasters, we might be able to do some serious damage with our weapons as well."

"It's worth a shot" Joseph said.

"Okay, but there's one problem about that" Sarah interjected. "How do we get those?"

"Oh, that's easy" Joseph said. "All you have to do is call out the name of your weapon, and it'll appear."

"Yeah, there's still a problem with that" Travis said. "We don't know the name of our weapons."

"Oh" Joseph said stumped. "Yeah, that's a problem all right."

"One that I might hold the answer to, Rangers" Haslan's voice sounded through their communicators. Haslan proceed to tell the new Rangers the name of their weapons and how to use them. When he finished, the Rangers once again faced the Cyclops. Katherine and Joseph called their weapons first.

"Yellow Knight Lance" Katherine shouted and a long, yellow lance appeared in her hands. The lance had both a blunt end for crushing, as well as a sharp end with a foot-long blade that could cut through anything. On the lance was a golden pattern, circling up and down the lance.

"Blue Knight Blades" Joseph shouted and on his arms, two curving blades, both one and a half foot long. The metal blades were a deep shade of blue as well as the handles in his fists.

"Green Knight Axe" Travis shouted and a medium-sized, double-bladed axe appeared in his hands. The dark-green shaft was thick and heavy, but not unpleasantly so. The double blades were black with a green edge. The two blades mended together at the top, forming a nice, round curve.

"Pink Knight Sai" Sarah shouted and two, oversized fork-like weapons appeared in her hands. The hilts were pink and split out in three small blades, with the middle one being the longest.

"All right, let's do this" Katherine said and the now armed Rangers begun their attack. Katherine ran towards the Cyclops and slashed it with the sharp end of the lance. Before it could regain its balance, she followed it up with a swoop the knocked it to the ground. Travis ran towards it and jumped, bringing down his axe at the creature. It rolled away, but Travis still hit it in the side. The Cyclops got to his feet when Joseph appeared from behind, piggy-backing the monster to the ground again while slashing it with his blades. Once again the Cyclops got up and swung its arm at Joseph. But before the swing was completed, Sarah had thrown a sai at the Cyclops, embedding itself in its arm. The creature howled in terror as it tore it out and threw it back to the Pink Ranger. She caught it and the Rangers now surrounded the Cyclops.

"Now we just need Ben so we can finish it off" Joseph said. As soon as he finished his sentence, the Red Ranger appeared from the rooftops, landing perfectly in front of the creature.

"You summoned me?" he joked at Joseph who grinned back. Then he looked at the others. "I see you got your weapons."

"Yup" Travis said while Sarah nodded.

"Then let's bring them together" Ben said as they grouped together.

Joseph called out the name of his weapon and slammed the blades together. They combined, forming a bow-like shape and he proceeded to throw it in front of the group where it hovered in the air. Katherine called out hers and split the lance in three. Then, each piece was thrown at the blades, forming small cannons on the underside. Now Sarah called hers and threw them in between the lance pieces. Travis called his and the axe changed form. The two blades split a little, and moved to form a long handle, with the two blades attached horizontally, rather than vertically, as they had been before. After its transformation, it was placed on the underside of the other weapons, encasing the lance and sais. Finally, Ben placed his sword on the top of the weapon and grabbed hold. Katherine and Joseph grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders, while Sarah and Travis supported the weapon.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster" they shouted, while targeting the Cyclops. "FIRE!" A ball of pure energy shot from the blaster. The Cyclops couldn't move, it was once again held in place by a small gravimetrical field. The ball impacted and an enormous explosion ensued. When it subsided, the Cyclops was no more.

* * *

"You told me it would be more than a match for the Rangers" Wyrmina hissed. "You promised me that the Cyclops would easily destroy them." Her eyes were glowing furiously as she looked at Golzor. "But I can't help to see that your monster lost the battle, rather than destroying the Rangers."

"I am sorry, my princess" Golzor said, though he felt no such sorry. "I should have foreseen that they would get new Rangers."

"Yes you should" Wyrmina hissed. "Be glad that Quiser is getting closer to finding _it_, or I would surely have punished you severely for this."

"Yes, my princess."

* * *

Back in Atlantis, the Rangers were celebrating the defeat of the Cyclops, as well as the new addition to the team.

"We came, we saw, we kicked Cyclops butt" Travis exclaimed excited. They laughed and even King Haslan smiled a little at the youth's enthusiasm.

"Is it like this every day?" Sarah asked.

"No, not every day" Joseph said. "Once or twice a week, but otherwise, yeah." Haslan sat in his throne, listening to the Rangers tale and smiled at their gestures.

"I must congratulate you on a job well done" he said to them. "But I fear that worse things are to come. Until now, the three of you have been able to defeat Wyrmina's monsters, but not today. Instead, we now have two new Rangers on the team, who have already proven their worth. For that, we are you ever thankful." The teens congratulated each other before Haslan continued. "So tonight we shall relax. A feast is being prepared in your honour. Please come back tonight, in your time I believe the time would be 19.00."

The Rangers thanked, accepted the offer and left the Throne Room. Just as they did, another Atlantian entered. He was tall, though that was the normal height for Atlantians. He wore a white coat and glasses, the first Atlantian they had seen with a pair of those. He closed the door after him and the Rangers left. Inside, he walked up to the king.

"I'm afraid I'm the bearer of ill news" he said. "Moments ago, the scientists observing Wyrmina's castle, registered a spike in energy. It had been rising slowly over the past few days, but suddenly jumped."

"Do you know what caused it?" Haslan asked concerned.

"I'm afraid not." Haslan didn't say anything but sank back in the chair, thinking. "Should we inform the Rangers, sire?"

"No, not yet" Haslan replied. "I do not wish to alarm them yet. Once an accident, two's a coincidence. Three's a pattern, so let's wait and see if it happens again."

"Yes, sire." With this, the scientist left.

Haslan turned to the captain of the guard. "I want you to organise a training schedule for the Rangers, starting next week. I don't know what is going on, but I'll rather be safe than sorry."

"Yes, sire" the captain said and left. Haslan sank back in the chair again, sighing. Just what had the energy build-up been? He tried to put his worries aside, but still they lingered on the corner of his mind.

* * *

And, that's a wrap. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, only spanning 9896 words, opposed to the 10000+ on the others. For those of you who wish to read my original idea for it, read on. If you don't want to, scroll down.

Ch4 starting setting: Main character focus: Katherine. We start at her house and follow her on a weekend morning. She has plans to meet with the group for a day in the city and takes her leave. Once she gets there, she finds that she's the first one. While she waits, the rich group from school shows off and she tries to hide. She does a poor job, but they still pass her by unaware. The others arrive, finding her hiding. They go around their business, browsing, talking, hanging out.

At Wyrmina's place, she is getting excited that the second Gargoyle is nearly filled. She orders Quiser, who is in the library studying, to call out another demon. He does as she commands, and Wyrmina selects a Cyclops and orders it to Golden Springs. // WOOT! Longest bad-guy scene so far. 3.5 pages.

The Cyclops arrives and trashes the teen's tour. All five teens helps the people get to safety and disposes of the imps. When most of the imps are gone, the Rangers sends the other two away with the civilians before morphing. When Sarah and Travis return, they find the Rangers on the scene who manages to beat the monster that retreats.

As you can see, things were changed. I actually wanted to introduce the new zords here, but that must wait.


	5. Chapter 5: A Powerful Combination

Hey folks.

I actually made it with this chapter on time (that is, if I had a deadline...). I only took a month to write this chapter and it spans around 10200 words, so as always, its quite a mouthful. I'll warn you right away, though, this chapter contains a little stronger scenes than usually. For once, I actually mention blood and some of the Imps meet a rather... unfortunate... end (think Darth Maul here).

* * *

**Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights.**

Power Rangers. Atlantis! (5 sec melody)

Ancient powers with ancient ways.

Coming to our world today.

Powers of Water, Power Unite.

Come and face this evil tonight. (4 sec pause)

Ancient evils awaken anew.

Only you can stop their crew.

Heroes come to save the day.

Power Rangers come our way. (4 sec pause.)

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Power Rangers. Atlantis!

Atlantis Knights… GO!

**

* * *

Episode 5: A Powerful Combination**

Ben looked up the clear, blue sky above him. The sun had been up for hours, as it usually was in the beginning of September, yet he had barely gotten up himself and had had even less time for breakfast, before he had headed outside to grab his bike and be on his way. He had told his mother that he would be with his friends all day. It's wasn't a lie, at least, not really. He was going to be with his friends, he just hadn't told her that the same friends were also the same team of Rangers that he commanded as their leader, and they would spend the day training in Atlantis.

Without thinking more about it, he jumped up on his bike and raced north. Only a week ago, he, Katherine and Joseph had told Sarah and Travis that they were Rangers and needed their help. The two other teens had then become Rangers as well and with their combined powers taken out the Cyclops attacking the city. The Atlantians had then held a banquet in their honour and that evening, Haslan had approached them, saying he had something he needed to discuss with them. He had then told them of his plans for some training for them and they had agreed willingly. They all knew that the battles would get tougher and if the Atlantians could help them prepare, they would gladly accept it.

Ben proceeded north through the city. He couldn't help but notice that with every attack, the signs of Wyrminas became more and more evident. Some roads still suffered from last week's attack, the uprooted trees had not been replanted, just towed away, and the destroyed ones that still stood were left standing. He knew that they were partially to blame and wished that he could help. But he had a greater responsibility, a call that transcended helping the city. He had the job of saving the city.

Despite his high speed on his bike, the trip to the abandoned church still took the better part of half an hour. As soon as he could see the crumbling ruins he sped up. The once white walls were now grey or covered in mud and dirt. The glass mosaics were stained or scattered. At least all four walls were still standing, holding up a roof that could fall at any second. But still, Ben had grown rather fond of the place. Not only was it the closest gateway to Atlantis, but it also worked as a sanctuary for him. Whenever he needed to clear his mind, he would go there and look at the building, sit in the shade of the apple tree, or whatever he was in the mood for.

He parked his bike and found that Travis were already there. Ben greeted him and Travis greeted him back, but other than that, neither said a word. While they did appreciate the training, they were unsure of what to expect. Soon Joseph arrived, then Katherine. Another five minutes passed by before Sarah pulled up in her pink car. She jumped out and joined the other teenagers. Ben opened the portal and they all went through.

As always when he walked through the portal, he felt cold. A slight cold, not at all like winter, but still a drop in temperature. Then the feeling of being two places at once, just a fraction of a second, but enough to send another set of shivers down his spine. When he finally emerged in the small storeroom in the castle, all of this had passed and he and his friends stood around the room, waiting for someone to guide them on. It did not take long before a guard entered the room. He gestured at the five teens to follow him and they did. For the next ten minutes or so, the teenagers followed their guard through a series of hallways, up and down staircases, until they finally made their way into the courtyard. The guard proceeded across the tiled yard and into a grassy field behind the castle.

The field was vast, larger than the Rangers had thought it would be behind the castle. Their end of the field was filled with equipment for melee training, such as arenas, dolls on sticks, weapons and so forth. In the other end were archery lanes, with plenty of targets in the far end. The guard lead them over to another guard. This one, however, was carrying a sword in his belt as well as a spear in his hand. His armour looked like it was made of coral and had the strangest patterns of green and blue. The teenagers identified him as the Captain.

"My name is Captain Janza of the Royal Guard" he said in a voice that commanded absolute obedience. "King Haslan has let all five of you into Atlantis and entrusted you with our weapons of old. He has a lot of faith in you five" he continued as he looked at them one by one. He held a small break, before he continued. "I do not. I saw rather that none of you ever entered Atlantis, but that decision is not mine to make. My orders are to train you and trust me when I say; your training will be most intense." Once again he looked at all of the five teenagers in turn, who all stared back at him. They were ready to do whatever he said, even if they had already made up their minds about hating him. "So let us begin the day's training. Normally, I'd let you have a go at the facilities or the other guards, but since time is of the essence I suggest we cut to the chase. I want you all to fight me, in your unmorphed stage. Then, once I'm satisfied, we'll take it up a notch. Do you think you are up to it?"

The Rangers looked at each other and nodded before Ben stepped forth. "We'll take anything you throw at us" he replied with a spark in his eye. They prepared themselves and the Captain explained the rules. They were allowed to use anything with the exception of their morphers. There were weapons on the weapon holsters, with each Ranger's weapon represented, only what looked like in plain steel rather than the material their own weapons were made of. The Rangers would win when the Captain was on the ground, unable to do anything. However, the Captain would win if all Rangers were on the ground or otherwise unable to fight. "All right, let's get started then" Ben said and took a step towards the weapons, but before he had taken another, the Captains spear was pointing at his chest. "Hey, what's the point?" Ben asked.

"In a real battle, you opponent would be a fool to let you simply obtain your weapons this easy" the Captain said. "If you want weapons, you'll have to get past me."

Ben jumped back as the Captain pushed a little harder with the spear. "So that's how it is then" he said. "All right guys, you heard the man. In order to get weapons, we'll have to get past him. Any ideas?"

"Yeah" Travis said. "Let me handle him." Before Ben could stop him, Travis had already run headfirst into battle. Travis threw a punch at the Captain's head, putting all his strength in the blow. But moments before the fist would have impacted the Captain dropped to his knees and swung his spear in a broad swing, knocking Travis off his feet. Travis fell to the ground but the Captain managed to get a leg in under him and kicked him hard in the back in mid-fall, launching him forward instead. Travis stumbled forward, fell and got up again. The others rushed to his side.

"Just what was that?" the Captain asked him sternly.

"An attempt to knock you over in order to secure our weapons" Travis answered proudly.

"If that's the best you can do, you do not deserve the honour of being a Power Ranger."

Travis grunted and attacked again. He ran towards the Captain and jumped, preparing a flying kick. But the Captain caught his leg in mid air and, using Travis' own momentum, turned around and threw him away, directly into the castle wall. Travis got up and rushed at him again, but before he made it, Ben was already there. Ben swung his arm to hit the Captain in the head, but Janza bent his knees and threw a fist at Ben's stomach. Ben gasped as the air in his lungs was forced out of him. Before he had a chance to recover, Ben was kicked away, only to be caught by Katherine and Joseph.

Travis had closed the distance between him and the Captain and made a low kick. The Captain back flipped to avoid the attack and before he landed swung the spear yet again, hitting Travis in the side. Sarah rushed to his side to aid him as the three others closed in on the Captain. Ben kicked at him, a swift kick from the right, but the Captain simply blocked with his spear. Before he could launch a counter attack, Katherine made another kick from the left, forcing the Captain to block that as well. Not giving away a second, the two teenagers grabbed hold of the spear and braced themselves. The Captain tried to shake them off, but they didn't move. Then the sound of rapid footsteps reached his ears and he looked up to see a charging Joseph. Joseph jumped and placed a well aimed kick in the Captain's face. He stumbled back a step, but that was all Sarah and Travis needed. They jumped and mimicked Joseph, hitting him in the chest one by one, forcing the Captain further away from the weapons.

As soon as Joseph had placed the first kick in the Captain's head, Katherine spun around and ran for the weapons. She reached the stand as Sarah and Travis placed their feet's in the Captain's chest and, without thinking twice, threw Ben a sword and Joseph a pair of elbow blades. She grabbed a spear for herself and joined the others. Now armed, Ben charged with his sword at the still recovering Captain. The Captain barely had the time to block with his spear as Ben made a powerful, vertical slash. Ben followed it up with another slash, sideways this time, and kept the Captain off-balance, giving Travis and Sarah a chance to get their weapons. Sarah made it to the stand first and threw an axe Travis' way and grabbed a pair of sai herself.

"Now the real battle begins" Ben said as he joined the others, forming a combined front roughly ten meters from the Captain.

"No" the Captain said. "The real battle is still ahead. This is but a step-up from before."

"Whatever" Sarah broke Ben off before he could reply. "We are winning and you know it."

The Captain didn't reply, instead he signalled for them to attack him once again. With renewed spirit, the Rangers engaged him. Ben ran straight towards the Captain but as the Captain made a thrust with his spear, Ben jumped back, landing just out of reach. Katherine attacked from Ben's right side by making a sweep with her spear. The guard retracted his own and defended, only to push her weapon away as he moved to defend his other side where Joseph was about to attack. Travis ceased this opportunity to strike with his axe, but the Captain dodged by stepping forward. Sarah threw a sai at the Captain but with a flick of the spear caught it and it fell to the ground. Ben jumped forth and slashed, making contact with the Captain's armour. Or at least, Ben thought he did. Just as the sword made contact with the armour, it shimmered and went right through it, without leaving a scratch on the armour.

"Wh... What happened?" Ben asked, staring in disbelief.

Before answering, the Captain took advantage of the teens' confusion, launched himself into the air and landed perfectly behind Ben. "The weapons are special training weapons" he said, trying to catch his breath. The teens turned to look at him as he explained. "The weapons are made of a special metal that is always hard, but shifts out of phase when it makes contact with persons. So when your weapons hit mine or another weapon, they will react like your regular weapons. But if you should hit an arm or leg, the metal will pass right through, leaving you unharmed. You will still feel like you actually took damage, but you won't lose a limp."

The Rangers looked a little confused, but were satisfied with the reassurance that they couldn't die. Now the Captain attacked. He ran towards the five teenagers who tried to split up but they were too late. A single flying kick sent Ben flying into the castle wall where he fell to the ground. The others barely had the time to shout out his name before the Captain made a swing with his spear, slamming the hard, wooden shaft into Katherine's side. She fell over and a swift kick in the ribs send her flying across the yard. Joseph slashed with his blades, but the Captain blocked it with his spear and counter-attacked, using the same spear to knock Joseph of his feet and with another flick of his spear send him rolling over to Ben. Sarah jumped and kicked as Travis dropped and made a low kick, but the Captain stepped back to avoid both attacks. Travis jumped up and swung his axe, but the Captain caught it with his spear, and sent it flying through the air. Before Travis could do anything, the Captain grabbed hold of him and threw him over to Ben and Joseph. Sarah made a last attempt at a strike but Janza simply grabbed her leg and swung her around, sending her over to Katherine. "If this is all you can do, then I'm surprised you've made it this far."

* * *

"Hu-arh!" Golzor roared as he swung his dark blade in a wide arc. The roar pierced the skies and for a brief moment, it seemed as if the heaven itself was afraid. Then the lightning continued, followed by another thunderous roar that rolled on in the barren waste outside the castle walls. The rain was pouring down, but Golzor paid it no mind. His black armour would keep him dry, even in the fiercest of storms. He swung his sword again and again, fighting a battle against an invisible foe. Time after time did he strike, and time upon time did he dodge to avoid imaginary blows.

"IMPS!" With a single command the imps were at his side and with a flick of his hand, they surrounded him. "If you wish to live" he started, looking menacingly at the small, winged creatures. "You will fight me and win. If you lose... you die." The imps around him shook a bit, trembling at the death that loomed ahead. "NOW!"

At his command the first few imps rushed at him. The first bared its small sharp claws but Golzor had already anticipated the attack. Before it had a chance to scratch at him, he grabbed its arm and tossed it over his head, directly into the ground. The Imp was stunned, but Golzor still gave a mighty stomp, crushing its ribcage. He turned at the second, who upon seeing his kin's untimely death had stopped, and grabbed it at the throat, strangling it. The Imp struggled, trying to break free of his hold. A few other Imps jumped at Golzor, hoping to bring him off balance, or at the very least weaken his grip a little, but to no avail. The Imp in his hand grew weaker, stopped struggling and died. Golzor tossed it away, useless as it was, feeling no remorse for the life he had just taken.

Two Imps attacked from behind, flying as fast as their small wings allowed them. Though their bodies were small and slim, their wings were even smaller and not meant for real flying, a weakness Golzor had once sought to eliminate. Both Imps scratched him, but the blow did not penetrate the armour. Angered, Golzor turned around and, with sword in hand, made a mighty slash that killed the two Imps instantly, by parting their bodies in two. The legs dropped down instantly, the upper parts of their bodies sailed slowly through the air, until they landed at the feet of the remaining Imps. Their faces were the same, a look of horror on both the dead and the living. Golzor looked at his blade and frowned; the sword had been stained with their blood.

He turned around to look at the six remaining Imps and snarled. Those little pests would pay for staining his sword. Golzor launched at them so fast that only a few managed to evade the attack. The others were hit as Golzor seemingly turned into a streak of golden light. He rushed back and forth past the Imps, causing small explosions in the process that damaged them all. A final, larger explosion ensued and the Imps were tossed into the air, crashing into the ground, dead. Golzor turned to look at the last two, whom, with a scared look on their faces, began to run away. Golzor grunted and raised his left arm up in front of his face, channelling his power into his fingers. With a yell he extended his arm towards the creatures and bolts of purple lightning shot from his fingers towards the Imps. It hit both the Imps as well as the surrounding ground and wherever the lightning hit, they exploded. When the explosions disappeared, the last two Imps were dead.

"Tsk" Golzor frowned. "There is no challenge in these things. And no honour in defeating them." He summoned another two Imps and left, ordering them to clean up the castle yard as he did. He walked into the castle and encountered Wyrmina in the hall.

"You'd better have a good reason for killing ten Imps" Wyrmina said as she watched him pass by.

"Training."

"You should be thinking about a way to destroy the Rangers, rather than our own soldiers."

"I will" he said and turned around a corner, disappearing from Wyrminas view. He walked down a stony hallway and followed a series of paths, until he was well below the ground. He walked down another set of stairs, only to arrive in front of an iron door. Only few knew about this place and fewer still had access. Golzor placed his hand on the door and mumbled a short passphrase. The door shimmered and disappeared. He walked through the now empty arch and the door re-appeared. On the other side was another set of stairs that led even further down.

He finally arrived in a small room. The room served as a connection to the next hallway and was bare, with the exception of a single desk on the right side. He walked on and entered a long hallway with cells on either side. A dungeon. Demons, which had turned on their own or had endangered the royal family, were kept here, and had been here for the past 4000 years. Golzor was surprised to see how many were still alive. Most of them were corpses in various stages of decomposition. The air had a foul stench to it. Golzor proceeded down the hall, noticing just who were still alive. In the end, only a few had survived, though he knew not how, but it was still more than expected. He looked over the remaining demons and smirked. He knew just the monster to take to Golden Springs. He looked at it and the demon growled. Saliva hung from its jaws, its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. It had a green skin, speckled with black spots. In its eyes, the madness and insanity of 4000 years solitude and imprisonment showed. But the malice that this demon held for anything that was not itself, shone through. Golzor smirked evilly and began to transport himself and the demon to Golden Springs.

* * *

"Hiarh!" the Yellow Ranger shouted as she launched at the Captain, bringing her yellow lance down at him from above. He quickly put up his own spear to protect himself, then in the last possible second withdrew and evaded the blow. Katherine could do nothing as she landed and felt the blunt end of the spear being thrust into her back. She tumbled over and the Captain brought down his spear at her. It would have hit her back, had Ben not made it in time, blocking the attack with his crimson sword. The Captain pressed hard and Ben could barely hold off the attack. As soon as his comrade was out of danger the Red Ranger let his enemy loose and avoided the blow by throwing himself backwards. The five Rangers stood together, panting.

"Man, this guy is though" Travis said, sweating underneath his helmet. "No matter what we do or try, he counters."

"Then we'll have to think up something new" Ben said, breathing just as heavily.

"Like what?" Joseph asked. "He already knows our weapons and our standard tactics don't seem to be working."

"We have tactics?" Sarah asked, acting shocked.

"Not helping" Katherine said. "We don't have time to argue about this."

"Right" Ben said. "We need to attack him all at once."

"Just leave it to me" Travis said, and before any of the Rangers could stop him, Travis rushed towards the Captain. Before he got there, Travis jumped, preparing to kick him in the chest. The Captain readied himself to catch the leg, but Travis had a surprise up his sleeve. Moments before the Captain would catch him he drew his blaster and fired a rapid series of green lasers. The shots impacted and the Captain stumbled back, allowing Travis to place a series of bicycle kicks in the Captain's chest. The Captain was knocked to the ground and Travis landed safely.

But now the Captain fought back. Travis rushed towards him to hit him while he was down but the Captain rolled out of the way. Before Travis could adjust, the Captain locked his legs around Travis' and gave a mighty jerk. Travis fell and in a single motion, the Captain was up and holding a sword at Travis' throat.

"If any of you feel like trusting you luck and wants to see if they can prevent me from ending him here, I'd like to see you try" the Captain said coldly, staring at the other four Rangers. The sword was touching Travis' throat and he could feel the sharp, cold metal edge through the suit. None of the other Rangers moved a muscle. "As I thought" the Captain said, then sheathed his sword and helped Travis to his feet. "In a real battle, you would have been killed. Remember this, all of you. Your enemy does not take prisoners. If they get the chance, they will kill you on the battlefield. Therefore, you must always be ready to save your teammates. Their lives are in your hands and yours in theirs."

At that moment, a high-pitched sound could be heard coming from the castle. "What is that?" Travis asked.

"It's the alarm" the Captain said. "Something must have happened. Follow me." The Rangers did as they were told and hurried after the Captain. They rushed back into the castle and followed the Captain up stairs and through hallways, passing helpless guards who knew they could do nothing. They finally made it to the Throne Room.

"What's going on?" Ben asked as soon as the doors closed behind them.

"It's Golzor" Haslan said. "He and a monster have appeared in the eastern part of Golden Springs."

"And it used to be such a nice neighbourhood" Joseph sighed, forcing a smile on the Rangers' lips.

"This is not a matter to be taken lightly" the King said sternly and the smirks instantly vanished from the Rangers' faces underneath their helmets. "Golzor and a monster is in your city and you dare stand here and make fun of it?!" The Rangers were stunned by his words. They had only known him for a short time, but in that time they had not known him to have a fit like this. "Your city is in danger. Now go!" With this the Rangers hurried off and the doors slammed behind them.

"Was it really necessary to be that rough on them?" the Captain asked.

"Maybe not, but you were the one who thought they needed training" Haslan replied with worry in his voice. "I just hope that I was not to rough on them."

"They'll be fine, sire" the Captain assured him. "They are young and spirited. This will all soon be forgotten and they will continue to serve as they have done so far."

The King walked over to the wall and stared out of the window, overlooking Atlantis and sighed. "I pray you're right."

* * *

In the eastern part of Golden Springs, chaos reigned. Most people had already evacuated and the remaining few were in panic. Purple lightning shot forth from Golzor's fingertips and a nearby car exploded. All around him were Imps, bashing at anything they could get their small, scaly claws on, as well as a dog-like, humanoid monster. In its right hand rested a Heavy Flail, on its left a small shield.

"It's been to long since I did this" Golzor said as he destroyed another car. The creature next to him snapped and growled, but was unable to do him anything.

"Not long enough" a voice came from behind. Golzor spun around and found the five Rangers, all morphed, standing on the roof of the house. The five Rangers jumped down and landed perfectly 10 meters from Golzor and his gang.

"You again" Golzor said with apparent venom in his voice.

"Yeah, us again" Sarah commented back.

"What are you doing here, Golzor?" Travis asked.

"I'm saying goodbye, Rangers" he replied. "And meet my new pet, the Gnoll." With this, Golzor vanished.

The Rangers looked at the creature that stood where Golzor had. It appearance resembled that of a dog or hyena, having a green, black-speckled skin, glowing eyes and razor-sharp teeth. The demon was walking on its hind legs, holding a large, iron-flail in its right hand, as well as a small buckler-shield, which showed signs of previous battles. When it growled, thick, heavy drops of saliva fell from its teeth. On its head rested a strange headgear, resembling a crown, seemingly made of bones from the demons previous victims.

"Yuck. Just what is that thing?" Katherine asked.

"Whatever it is, it sure is ugly" Joseph replied.

"We don't have any time to waste guys" Ben said. "Let's go." They ran towards the Gnoll and the Imps towards them. "You guys take care of the small ones; I'll go for the leader."

"Roger!" they replied as one and the battle began. The four Rangers split up, engaging the Imps by themselves, allowing Ben to make his way to the Gnoll.

Travis made it to his group first and slashed the first Imp with his axe. It shrieked in pain and fell backwards into a wall. Another Imp rushed at him from the side and made a powerful kick despite its small size. Travis stumbled back a bit but quickly regained his balance and caught the Imp by its leg as it attacked again. He twisted its leg and the Imp spun around in the air, then let go and the creature fell to the ground. Travis kicked at it, but the Imp rolled away out of reach. It got up and with an ally rushed at Travis. The Green Ranger jumped over and landed behind them. He quickly spun around and slashed them in the back with his axe. A minor explosion ensued and the Imps were launched right into a wall. Travis clasped his hands together as to congratulate himself on a job well done, when suddenly two Imps grabbed him from behind.

Meanwhile, Katherine had had her fill of the Imps. As soon as she had reached the first two, she instantly made a low swing with her lance to knock them off balance. But both Imps jumped and landed behind her. They rushed at her, but before they could attack, the Yellow Ranger had already withdrawn the lance and pushed it backwards, hitting one of them in the chest. The other stopped for a moment, amazed at what had happened and that moment was all Katherine needed to quickly turn around and slash the standing Imp with the sharp end of the lance. It flew back, clutching its chest. A third Imp came flying at her from the left and Katherine barely dodged its attack by flinging herself to the ground, a move she soon found to be a mistake. A fourth Imp came from behind and landed on her back, pinning her to the ground. The Imp that had missed her before joined its comrade and Katherine couldn't move.

Like his friends and partners, Joseph too was being busy. As soon as the first few Imps rushed towards him, the Blue Ranger readied his blades and ran in between them, slashing them as he passed by. Most of the Imps were defeated in a single sweep, but a few dodged the blades and launched a counter-attack. Their small, scaly feet hit Joseph in his back and he flew forwards, landing on the hard road. One of the Imps descended upon him and he barely managed to roll out of reach. He made a low kick at the Imp and as it fell over, Joseph jumped up. Another Imp flung itself at him but Joseph stopped the little, scaly creature in its tracks and wrestled with it, trying to make it fall over. Just as the Imp was about to fall, the Imp Joseph had knocked over before grabbed his legs and heaved. Joseph fell and landed on his chest, his helmet banging against the road. The two Imps swarmed him and Joseph was trapped.

The first thing Sarah had done, as the first few Imps closed on her position, had been to jump over them and land on a wrecked car. The Pink Ranger quickly spun around, drawing her blaster in the same movement. She aimed and fired and five small, pink shots flew from the blaster and impacted in the backs of the Imps. They fell over, smoke rising from their backs. Sarah spun the blaster around her finger, stopped it, and blew out pretended smoke. She put the blaster back in its holster but she had let her guard down. A single Imp launched at her from behind, knocking her off the car. She tumbled across the road, dropping her blaster. As the Imp jumped at her again, Sarah regained her footing and threw a sai at the Imp. It hit straight in the chest and the Imp fell down. Sarah rushed over to grab her sai, but just before she reached it, another two Imps knocked her over and immobilised her arms.

As the other four Rangers spread out to fight the Imps, Ben ran past them all towards the Gnoll. He slashed with his sword but the Gnoll blocked it with its shield. The Gnoll swung its right arm from a downward angle and the spiky end of the flail flew towards Ben's back. Ben jumped back, barely escaping the spiked ball. But the Gnoll did not give up. It swung its chain left and right, trying to hit Ben. But the Red Ranger was able to dodge each attack but he had no way of getting an attack in. Then an idea occurred to him. After he dodged another swing with the flail, he quickly grabbed his blaster and fired at the Gnoll. But it moved its shield to intersect the shots and emerged unharmed. Though his attack had been unfruitful, it had still been effective enough to make an opening.

As soon as the beast lowered its shield, Ben kicked it in its head. The beast lost its balance and took a step back. But Ben was already all over it, slicing it with his sword. The Gnoll tumbled back and the Red Ranger sent a white-gloved fist, right in its face. It fell backwards and landed hard on its back. Ben jumped and prepared to thrust his legs into its stomach upon his decent. But before he connected the creature rolled away and Ben missed, hurting his feet a little. The Gnoll was swift to take advantage of the situation and snapped at Ben as it kicked him in the side. The Red Ranger was flung sideways and collided with a streetlamp. As Ben tumbled over the Gnoll arose.

Meanwhile, Travis had managed to shake off those that had grabbed hold of him from behind. As another of the small, scaly Imps launched at him, he drew his blaster and fired three green shots that all hit the scaly creature in its stomach. He sensed something from behind and spun around in time to catch another kick. Travis pushed it backwards and, while it was still off-balance, slashed it with his axe. It fell over and exploded. The Green Ranger was quick to act and sprinted to the one he had shot before. Before the Imp could evade, Travis brought down his axe and the Imp exploded. He looked up and quickly assessed the situation. The three other Imp-fighting Rangers were breaking free of their own restraints by themselves, so he turned his attention to Ben and the Gnoll. The half human, half beast was slowly closing in on Ben, who seemed pretty banged up. In less than a second he made up his mind and rushed to Ben's aid.

The Gnoll walked slowly towards Ben. It had a snarl on its face, saliva dripping from its mouths corners, its eyes glowed a pale yellow filled with insanity. Ben was struggling to get up, but the last blow had been hard. He had hit his head pretty badly against the streetlamp and his vision was still blurred. The Gnoll raised its right arm, preparing a devastating strike with its flail. Just as it swung its arm, Travis appeared behind it and gave a mighty kick in its right ribs. The Gnoll flew sideways and the Green Ranger hurried over to his Red counterpart.

"You okay man?" Travis asked as he helped him up.

"I'll manage" Ben said. He was slowly feeling better and his vision was almost normal already.

"How about we kick some demon butt?" Travis asked jovially, trying to cheer up Ben.

"Sure" Ben chuckled. "Something like that always brightens my day."

The two Rangers ran towards the now standing beast. Ben jumped and brought his sword down at it, but it was deflected with the shield. Before Ben could get out of reach the demon bashed him with the shield and grabbed him throwing him away. Travis followed up with a strike from his axe but this time the creature countered with his flail, spinning the chain around the weapon, rendering the strike useless. Before Travis could even think of retrieving his weapon, the demon had already thrown it towards Ben, grabbed Travis and done the same with him.

Katherine watched as Travis sprinted to Ben's rescue, only to get thrown away. Seeing the Gnoll close in on their position, Katherine knew she had to do something. In a sudden burst of strength, Katherine stretched her arms, throwing off the Imps on her back. Without getting up, Katherine slashed the two Imps that had fallen off and rolled out of reach of another two. She quickly drew her blaster and took out one of the Imps. The other dodged the yellow shots and Katherine threw the lance at it, which embedded itself in its chest. Finally getting up, she ran over and took her lance, then ran towards Travis and Ben.

The Red and Green Ranger were defenceless on the ground as the Gnoll walked closer to them, swinging its flail vehemently. The creature barked and snarled, then jumped into the air and began its decent towards the struggling Rangers. Less than a second before the beast would have crushed the teenagers spines, Katherine intersected with a flying kick, sending the beast flying horizontal once again and then turned to her comrades.

"You two okay?" she asked as she extended her hands to help them up.

"I think my pride is hurt" Travis complained. Ben and Katherine smiled behind their visors.

"I'll be fine" Ben said as Katherine turned to look at him. "So let's bring this thing down." The three Rangers readied their weapons and rushed towards the Gnoll. Travis jumped and brought down his axe, wielding it in both hands for added power. The Gnoll deflected it with its shield and quickly smashed it into Travis' head. Before Travis could avoid the blow, the beast swung its flail, aiming at Travis' bared side. It hit and Travis was sent flying again. Katherine followed up with a low sweep with her lance, but the beast jumped over it and kicked her out of the way. Now Ben made his move, a hard thrust at the demon's body. The Gnoll had no time to evade or block and the sword impacted in its chest, causing a small wound with blood slowly leaking out of it. The beast snarled in wrath, grabbed Ben by the throat and hurled him into Katherine and Travis.

Meanwhile, Joseph had managed to get the two Imps off his back and was now holding his ground against what seemed like a never ending swarm of them. A single Imp launched at him from the right, soaring through the air, its claws ready. Joseph raised an arm to protect himself and the Imp collided with the blade. It fell limply to the ground. Joseph jumped across and hit another imp with a fist in its head. The Imp tumbled over but was replaced with two new. Joseph cursed and threw himself to the ground to avoid a blow. The other Imp kicked at him, but Joseph grabbed its leg and swung the Imp into the other. He got up quickly and rushed towards Sarah.

Sarah had been pinned down after losing both her blaster and a sai and was now desperately trying to free herself from her restraints. She managed to free her right arm and knocked away one of the Imps. She proceeded to pass the sai in her left hand to her right and threw it at the Imp still sitting on her back. The sai hit it clean and the Imp fell over, lifeless. Sarah got to her feet, took back her sai and went for the other one lying on the street next to her blaster. A single Imp dared get in her way, but it was quickly cut down. She arrived and bent down to take her stuff when two Imps came flying at her from behind. Before Sarah could react, the Imps were lying on the street with the Blue Ranger standing above them.

"You alright?" Joseph asked.

"I'm fine, thanks" Sarah replied, tucking the blaster down its holster, this time securing it safely. With weapons in hand, the two Rangers set a course for the monster that was once again closing in on the other group. The Red, Yellow and Green Rangers were pretty beaten up and had barely the strength to move. The monster was stepping ever closer, its eyes now pure malice. It raised its flail arm and was just about to bring it down, when a series of blue shots hit its side, followed by two pink sai. The creature shrieked in pain but it had dropped its guard, a flaw that Joseph and Sarah used. They jumped and performed a twin, flying kick at the creature, knocking it over. The flail flew from its hand and rolled away.

"Are you guys alright?" Sarah asked concerned as she and Joseph helped the others to their feet.

"We'll be fine" Ben said.

"Who are you trying to convince?" Joseph asked.

"Let's decide on that later" Ben said with a grimace behind his visor. "I say we end this now, once and for all. You with me?" The other nodded and the Rangers readied their weapons. Joseph called out the name of his weapon and slammed the blades together. They combined, forming a bow-like shape and he proceeded to throw it in front of the group where it hovered in the air. Katherine called out hers and split the lance in three. Then, each piece was thrown at the blades, forming small cannons on the underside. Now Sarah called hers and threw them in between the lance pieces. Travis called his and the axe changed form. The two blades split a little, and moved to form a long handle, with the two blades attached horizontally, rather than vertically, as they had been before. After its transformation, it was placed on the underside of the other weapons, encasing the lance and sais. Finally, Ben placed his sword on the top of the weapon and grabbed hold. Katherine and Joseph grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders, while Sarah and Travis supported the weapon.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster" the group shouted, aiming at the lying Gnoll. "FIRE!" A multicoloured energy ball emerged from the weapon. Though the energy moved rather slowly, the beast was unable to move, as the gravimetric field surrounding the ball had already encased the beast. The energy ball impacted with the Gnoll and it exploded. When the explosion died down, the Gnoll had vanished, been disintegrated.

"Alright! We did it!" Sarah exclaimed cherry.

"That was a tough one" Ben said, panting for air.

"And if you think it's over yet, you have another thing coming Rangers." The Rangers jolted their heads towards the sound, and saw a robed figure standing where the Gnoll had been just moments prior.

"Who's he?" asked Travis.

"He's one of Wyrminas henchmen" Joseph explained. "And where ever he is, trouble usually follows. Big trouble."

"You're right about that" Quiser said. Before the Rangers could move to intercept, Quiser spread out some dust on the Gnolls remains and vanished instantly, alongside all the Imps. Before the Rangers had time to even think about pursuit of any kind, the ground began to tremble. A wind began to blow towards the remains, as if it was sucked into a vacuum. Then suddenly, the creature regenerated, only it size multiplied.

"Now what do we do?" Sarah asked concerned. "We can't fight that thing now."

"Actually, we can" Katherine said.

Ben brought his communicator to his mouth. "Haslan, we need the Zords. All of them."

"They're already on their way" Haslan replied.

* * *

Just outside the dome that kept Atlantis safe, five giant, humanoid machines rested. As the Atlantians in the castle activated them remotely, their eyes flashed. The five machines slowly rose to their feet, struggling both against the water pressure, as well as the corals that had begun to grow on them from centuries of abandonment. When they finally reached their full height, the giant robots bend down in their knees. People inside the dome stared at the marvellous wonder. The ancient fighting machines had finally risen again. Then, suddenly, the five machines exerted a force that shook the ground, and as a rocket they shot out of the sea, only to land on the ground.

No sooner had they landed, before they departed for Golden Springs. They crossed hills and plains, forests and mountains, all in a matter of minutes. Finally, the five machines arrived in Golden Springs between the monster and the Rangers. The beast swung its flail at one of them, but it merely grabbed the weapon, and with its allies they brought the beast to the outskirts of the city.

"What exactly are those things?" Travis asked in awe as the giant machines followed the beast out of town.

"Those" Joseph started. "Those are your new toys." Before Sarah or Travis could ask any more questions, the other Rangers gestured for them to get on their motorbikes and follow the Zords.

* * *

They found them on a rocky field, just south of the city. Apparently, the giant robots had brought them back to the place they had been last time. The Gnoll was now kicking and barking, and the five machines had taken a few steps back, waiting for their masters to take control. On the way, Ben had instructed Travis and Sarah on how to board the machines. Now that he had left his vehicle, he yelled out the name of his Zord and jumped up. When he reached the height in which the head was located, the Red Ranger spun around, crossed his arms in front of his chest and was drawn through the face of the machine. The other Rangers mimicked his moves.

As Travis turned around and was slowly drawn into the machine, Haslan's words sounded through the communicator. "Travis, to compliment your physical skills you have been given command of the Green Aggressor Zord. May its power prove worthy to your course."

Sarah followed, and as she too was drawn towards the Zord, Haslan spoke to her. "Sarah, your physical strength and natural agility will be complemented with the Pink Aggressor Zord. Its strength is yours to command."

Now that all five Rangers were inside their Zords, they took a look at their surroundings. Just like last time, Ben found himself in a sort of cockpit. In front of him were multiple control panels, each of them with a myriad of flashing lights and fancy buttons. Directly in the middle of the centre control panel was an object that resembled a joystick. He gently turned the leather chair he was sitting in and verified the controls on the side of the room as well.

"Now, how about we end this for good?" Ben asked, using the Zords com-system. The Rangers manoeuvred into position and the five giant robots were now standing across the giant Gnoll. The Beast began to charge at them, swinging its flail vividly. It swung at them and hit Sarah's Zord. The giant, pink robot flew backwards and landed on its back. Sarah was knocked out of her chair and as she tried to get her Zord back on its feet, the other engaged the demon.

Ben manoeuvred his Zord to the right of the Gnoll and punched at it. But the Gnoll brought up its shield to deflect the attack. Travis used this opening to strike from the front but as his Zord attacked the Gnoll, his arm was stopped by the Gnolls flail. The Gnoll swung its right arm towards Ben's Zord, and unable to withstand it, Travis and his Zord was brought along. The Red Defender Zord and the Green Aggressor Zord collided and fell over. Joseph jumped and tried to attack from the air, but his attack was just as easily avoided, by grabbing his Zords legs and swinging it around to throw it away. The Gnoll looked around, expecting Katherine's attack, but the Yellow Ranger and her Zord were nowhere near the Gnoll.

Then, suddenly, as form out of nowhere, the Yellow and Pink Zord attacked from behind, a combined punch that made the Gnoll fly forward. As the other Rangers got their Zords back on their feet, the Gnoll heaved itself up as well.

"Gah!" Sarah exclaimed. "What does it take to kill that thing?"

"A lot" Joseph answered.

The beast was getting irate and went into a frenzy. It launched at the five Rangers and their Zords. It made a wide bash with its left arm, knocking over Joseph's Zord. Before any of the Rangers could retaliate, the Gnoll had slammed its flail into the Pink Zord's head which fell over again. The beast then punched at Ben, and while he managed to block the first punch, he was knocked back after the second. Travis and Katherine began to circle around the Gnoll, evading its blows. Travis kicked at the beast but the flail struck his leg and the Zord lost its balance. Katherine tried to take advantage of the opening in the Gnolls defences, but to no avail. Her efforts were pushed back and she was thrown to the ground.

"Combat mode, engage!" Ben yelled. The others joined him right away.

"Neural interface, initiated." The control panels in front of Ben slowly withdrew into the floor and walls of the Zord. Ben got up and his chair slowly sank down into the floor. Ben was now completely alone in his control room. "Neural interface, complete. Combat mode, engaged."

"What is this all about?" Travis asked.

"It's a neural connection" Katherine answered. "It reads your brainwaves and transmits the signals to the computer, which then acts upon it."

"It does what now?" Sarah asked, just as dumbfounded.

"You do something, it does the same" Joseph clarified.

"Enough chatter" Ben cut through and the Rangers grew serious, aligning themselves shoulder to shoulder. Ben ran towards the beast, which reacted with a snarl. It swung its flail above its head and launched it directly at Bens head. Ben threw himself to the ground to dodge the strike, rolled and sprung at him. The Red Defender Zord banged into the beast with its arms stretched and knocked it of balance. Ben then grabbed the creature's leg and threw it across his head into the ground. Ben kicked it in its side and the creature flew into a cliff.

Travis ran towards it and jumped, hanging horizontally in the air as his Zord kicked the demon in its stomach. As soon as he lost his momentum he landed on the ground and punched the Gnoll in its face. The demon became disoriented and Travis tore it from the cliff-side and hurled it at Joseph. Joseph had his Zord catch the demon and proceeded to give it a head-butt. The creature howled in pain and as Joseph passed it on to Katherine, the beast tried to bite through the Zord. Katherine got the creature and sent it flying back into the cliff by a well placed high-kick. She followed it up with a few more, before finally making room for Sarah and her Pink Aggressor Zord. Sarah had her Zord strike it multiple times, but the creature kept on going.

"Red Knight Sword!" Ben called and his blade appeared in his hand. Outside the cockpit, a lightning struck the Zord's right hand and a duplicate of Ben's sword appeared in it. "Red Knight Slash!" Inside the cockpit, Ben raised his arms and quickly brought them down diagonally. Outside, the Zord mimicked his moves, raising the sword high above its head, only to bring it down on the now defenceless Gnoll. The sword hit the demon, and a gigantic explosion ensued.

"That should do the trick" Joseph said satisfied. But in the very next moment, the sharp end of the flail came out of the smoke, hitting all five Zords and knocked them down. "Or not!"

"Haslan, we need more power" Ben yelled. "No matter what we do, it's not enough."

"Not to worry, Rangers" Haslan said. "We had foreseen something like this could happen, even 4000 years ago. If you want to beat that thing, you need to activate the Megazord mode."

"Megazord, huh?" Travis asked. "How do we do that?"

"Easy" Haslan replied. "You activate the Megazord the same way you activate the combat mode."

"Alright, we got it Haslan. Thanks" Ben said and turned of communication to Atlantis. "Alright, are you guys ready?" His teammates ensured him they were. "Megazord mode, activate!" Ben yelled.

"Neural interface, disengaged" the computer said, as the chair and consoles slowly rose from the floor and walls. Ben got back in the chair and a seatbelt fastened. Once the cockpit was back to normal, Bens Zord jumped into the air and hovered. Here, it folded its legs behind it at the knees and its arms at the elbows. Katherine's and Joseph's Zords jumped as well. They instantly flipped their legs to their backs and their arms down the side, resembling a small tank. Their heads moved to sit on the back, as if they were looking in a 90 degree angle, while flowing backwards towards the Red Defender Zord. The two Zords attached themselves to the Red's legs, becoming a new pair of legs; Katherine's became the right leg, and Joseph's the left. Now the Green and Pink Zords jumped. They too folded their arms and legs to their sides and backs. Then the heads on the two Zords withdrew, revealing an enormous hand. The two Zords drifted towards the Red Zord and attached themselves as a new pair of arms. Now that all the Zords had combined, the Red Zord retracted its head into the body, only to replace it with a more proportionate one from the back. The Rangers were then transported through a series of tubes, still sitting in their chairs, when they suddenly arrived in the new head, each in front of their own console. "Megazord, activated" the computer affirmed.

Ben looked around the new cockpit. To his left was Sarah, stationed at what he deducted to be a form of power supply station. To his right was Travis, already checking out his console which controlled the weapons. In front and to the right was Katherine, already studying a variety of minor functions. Joseph was to the front left of Ben, controlling what he deducted to be propulsion. He finally looked at his own station. Apparently, his station held a little of all the other, and would enable him to not only give out orders but also assist a Ranger in need.

"Alright" Ben said, smiling beneath his helmet. "Let's see what this thing can do."

"The Gnoll's power comes from its immense psychical strength as well as its constitution" Katherine said. "That would explain why could take such a beating and keep on going."

"Maybe there's a way to use that to our advantage..." Ben thought out loud, but couldn't immediately come up with one. "But until then, let's see what we can do. Joseph, bring us closer. Travis, prepare to engage in combat with it."

"Gothca" Joseph said and began to manoeuvre closer to the beast. As the Megazord came closer it swung its right arm, knocking the shield away from the Gnoll. The demon swung an arm at the Megazord, but Travis intercepted and caught the punch. With the free hand, the Megazord punched the creature back, knocking it to the ground.

"Alright" Ben said. "Is there some sort of weapon we can use, to end this once and for all?"

"Hold on a minute" Travis said and fiddled with the control panel for a few seconds. "I think I found something. Transmitting to your console now."

Ben looked at it and smiled. "Alright. Atlantis, this is Ben. We need the Power Sword." Haslan didn't respond but another lightning appeared and a magnificent, metal sword now rested in its right hand. The blade was large, but not so that it could not be wielded. It had a faint glow, a glow that shimmered with the colours of the five Rangers. "Sarah, bring the Power Sword to full power." She nodded and the sword began to glow even more, now radiating light. "Combat mode, activate" Ben shouted. The console in front of him sank into the floor and Sarah's and Travis' consoles and chairs were moved closer to the walls. Ben's sword appeared in his hand and the computer confirmed that the neural link had been established.

"Atlantis Knight Strike!" they all yelled and Ben swung his sword around his arm once and the Megazord mimicked him. Then he brought the sword down and the Megazord cleaved through the Gnoll. Even before it exploded, the Megazord had already attacked twice more. The creature exploded and as the explosion subsided, the Rangers could finally determine that the Gnoll was gone.

"I guess that's how much it took to bring it down" Joseph said with a faint smile.

* * *

As the Rangers returned to Atlantis, they were greeted by the Captain in the small storage room. He congratulated them on their victory and escorted them to the King.

"You did very well, Rangers" Captain Janza said. "I am glad that your training has already born fruit."

"It wasn't just our efforts" Ben said. "If you guys had not designed the Zords to combine, we wouldn't have been able to defeat it."

"I wouldn't be sure" the Captain said as they turned a corner. "After all, you five managed to defeat and destroy the creature on your own through teamwork before it grew. If you had not trusted your companions with your life, none of you would be here now."

The Rangers had no time to respond as they now entered the Throne Room. King Haslan got up from his throne and greeted them as well, complimenting them on a job well done. "Also, I must apologize for my outburst earlier" he said.

"No" Joseph said. "It was my fault." Haslan looked at him, as did his de-morphed Ranger-companions. "I should not have made fun of people who are in danger. It was right of you to yell at us."

"I appreciate your efforts, Joseph" Haslan said. "But I would rather you continued. You have seen the horrors that Wyrmina can inflict, and you five have faced the dangers and know the risks better than anyone. You will need all of your strength to combat her forces of darkness, and if taking a situation lightly heightens your spirit, so be it."

"Before we leave" Ben said. "I would like to ask you a question."

"Yes."

"I noticed a difference in the names of our Zords. Mine, Katherine's and Josephs are called 'Defender Zords', while Travis' and Sarah's are called 'Aggressor Zords'. Does the difference mean anything?"

"Yes" Haslan replied. "As the name indicates, the Defender Zords possess higher defensive capabilities. It will take more to knock it over or severely damage it, but they lack the higher attack power of the Aggressor Zords, which were built to inflict damage to the forces of evil."

"I see" Ben said as he understood.

"So what happens next?" Katherine asked.

"Now you go back and live your lives, until Wyrmina attacks again" Haslan replied. "There's nothing else we really can do."

* * *

"You did what?!" Wyrmina shouted at Golzor who kneeled before her. Quiser and Fuboon were standing as far away as possible, up against the wall. That is, Quiser was standing while Fuboon quivered in hiding behind him. "How dare you take an army of Imps – MY IMPS – to the city, bring a demon along that I knew NOTHING about and LOSE?!" Her eyes were ablaze, her tongue double egged and her nails had grown to five times their normal size.

"I am sorry, my princess" Golzor said as coldly as he could. In truth, he did not feel sorry at all, with the exception that his demon had not done its task properly.

"No you're not" Wyrmina hissed. "But you will be." The two stared so intensely at each other that even though Fuboon could not see them he still tried to make himself as small as possible behind Quiser. "Leave" she said and gestured at Golzor. "All of you. I need to think." Golzor, Quiser and Fuboon hurried out and Quiser closed the door behind them.

Wyrmina walked up to her throne and sat down. She was angry at Golzor. Not only had he taken an army of Imps and used a demon without her explicit permission to summon one. But he had also been closer to doing the job than she had been for the past month. But no more. By now Quiser should be done with a surprise for the Rangers, a surprise they would not soon forget. But more importantly, the task that she had given him a few weeks ago would soon be completed. Soon, she would know the location of the Element Scroll.

* * *

Hmm... Looks like the plot is heating up a bit. What surprise? The Elemental Scroll? And most importantly: Other than hiding behind Quiser, Fuboon didn't screw up! Surely this must be an omen of bad things to come.

On the more serious note, I feel like I should sum up on a few things. First, we have the ejection system of the Zords. As I stated in chapter 3, my theory goes that if the Zord is severely damaged, an automated safety system ejects the Rangers. If not, they just fall out of their chairs. Secondly, Even though I had Haslan explain it in the story, I'd like to clarify. The Defender Zords has superior mobility and defences, but they don't deal as much damage. The Aggressor Zords deal far more damage than the Defender Zords, but at the cost of speed and mobility. It also takes less to knock them over. This was a difference I had in mind when I started the story way back, not just something I implemented on a whim, and I shall try to make it clearer as the story progresses. Thirdly, you may have noticed that my Rangers got quite beaten up, yet could still go on fighting (for those with poor memory, that's how it works in the shows too). It may not come as a surprise, but I have a theory on this as well. Not only does the suit provide moderate protection, they also have some regenerative qualities, healing the Rangers in mid-battle. Take Ben's vision. After he hit the street light his vision was blurry. But by the time he and Travis struck the Gnoll, his vision was normal. In my series, the suits have these regenerative capabilities, but broken legs and other big injuries are still beyond them.

In other news, my exam went well. We were all allowed to continue to next semester (no surprise there) and these past two weeks have been spent on making this chapter. If all goes as it should, you can expect chapter 6 around March or so. Man, making around 35-40 episodes with only 10-12 chapters a year is going to take forever. Or possibly only 3-4 years... And no, I haven't decided on teh actual amount yet, but I do know that there is roughly a week between the episodes. We'll reach the halfway point at Christmas (story time, not real life. That'll probably be somewhere around summer 2010, but hopefully sooner), and without spoiling to much, I can already say, that the Rangers won't get a Merry Christmas.

And for those of you who read my stories, is it possible to request either additional Beta-Readers and/or constructive critique? I know how to use the search option for Beta Readers (and I have a profile myself), but if those of you who reads this would like to help me (as well as yourself) to improve, let me know. Just write in your review, and I'll send you a mail, or skip the middle link and send me a mail right away. I have one already, but I would like additional help, to ensure I don't wear anyone down (it's also a way of keeping Beta Readers interested in following the story online).

~ Starspejd


	6. Chapter 6: The Element Scroll

Sorry about the long, long wait folks, but I have a perfectly good reason for it. My father passed away at February 1st and, much against my will, this affected my ability to write... well... anything for nearly a month. Luckily, I seem to be through that now. Not to belittle my father's demise, but writing usually helps clearing my head (or add stress... take your pick). I promise that I'll try and get the next chapter up a little sooner than a month and a half, but everything is different now. Even if we have found a new, daily routine, it can still feel weird sometimes. But you need not worry about that. What you need to worry about is what's going on in the story.

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**Episode 6: The Element Scroll**

A fierce wind was howling over the barren wasteland surrounding Wyrmina's castle. Everywhere, centuries of never-ending lightning storms had completely ravaged the land. The once fertile soil was now hard rock, so that not even the sturdiest vegetation could grow. Canyons and valleys gave the wasteland an even more desolate look, as well as being a reminder that there had once been water. The sky above was as always filled with dark clouds and the air with the sound of thunder.

In the midst of all the desolation, stood Wyrmina's castle. Its obsidian black walls were a sharp contrast to the deserts broken brown. The tall walls surrounding the castle yard stretched high above the canyon which surrounded them on the outside. The gate was a similarly large structure with massive, black iron bars, preventing anything from entering or leaving without the guard's knowledge. Anyone outside the gate would have a free view at the enormous castle with its terrifying, black walls, creepily adorned windows and its broken keeps. On one of the keeps were located six statues, gargoyles. They were large, bulky statues, seemingly carved in rock. Four of them were sitting on their legs and forearms, with their wings folded on the back. The remaining two were standing on their hind legs, reaching for the sky with their hands and the wings spread wide. All of them were looking away from the keep, as if they were keeping watch for something.

A lightning flashed and the two standing gargoyles looked for a brief moment as if they were alive. Their opened mouth lit up and their sharp teeth looked ready to devourer anything; their long claws as if they could rip through flesh and tear it from the bones; their scaly wings that could render a man asunder, making him unable to walk with but a stroke. Any regular mortal that saw these scenes would surely die from terror or at the very least go mad with horror.

But Wyrmina was no regular mortal. The demon princess had lived for several millennia, albeit she had spent the last 4000 years in a deep sleep. But now that she had been awakened, all she could think about was restoring her father's lost reign of terror, starting with Golden Spring. Her reasons for this were as mysterious as they were irrefutable. Not only was it close to the place she had slept for 4000 years, it was also the site of a powerful nexus; a compilation of magic so powerful which when used for good could bring eternal peace, but if used for evil, it could bring about the end of the world. She had first felt its power more than a month ago when she had been awakened and she had known instantly that with the power of the nexus, she could restore her father's fallen kingdom.

But in order to control the nexus, she first had to control the city on top, Golden Spring. She had made several attempts over the past month, but all had been thwarted by the city's new protectors, the Power Rangers. They had come to Golden Spring when Wyrmina had first arrived, and had continued to annoy her ever since. But that would all be over soon. One of her more competent servants, Quiser, had been doing extensive research and had finally succeeded in discovering the location of the fabled Element Scroll; a scroll containing the most powerful magic there was. With that power at her disposal, she was confident that she could defeat the Power Rangers.

Another lightning flared and lit up the sky, once more giving the statues a more living posture. Amongst them was a tall woman, clad in black armour that weaved between plates and scales, though were neither. Her legs were covered in the same materials and though she appeared to walk in semi high-heeled shoes, they were actually part of the armour. The woman smirked evilly as another bolt lit up her face and eyes. Her black hair lit up, as did her yellow eyes. All in all she was a stunning woman. Stunning, but dangerous.

As the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs in the tower, the woman turned to look at the source of the noise. As the steps grew louder, more and more of the person making them was revealed. It was a tall man, clad in a midnight-dark armour, with golden patterns weaved into the metal plates. His arms, legs, feet and hands were covered in a matching set. The helmet was similar to the rest of the armour, only it had a golden outline around a black visor, which enabled the wielder to see.

The dark knight kneeled and spoke in a calm, charismatic voice. "Quiser requests your presence, milady."

"Has he discovered the location of the scroll?" the woman asked.

"So he claims" sounded the reply.

The woman smirked and descended the stairs, the armour clad knight following her. They walked down the aging winding staircase. Multiple slabs of marble were missing from the stairs, exposing the softer underlying stone to the elements. One false step and a person could pummel to an untimely demise when their life came to an abrupt stop at the floor below. But Wyrmina and the knight, Golzor, both knew where to place their weight and arrived at the floor safely. Leaving the keep, they headed towards the main castle. The wooden double doors that guarded the entrance had fallen slightly ajar over the past four millennia, but were otherwise in perfect shape. Wyrmina pushed open one of the doors and entered the main hall.

People, who thought the castle looked majestic on the outside, would be overwhelmed when they saw the inside. Where the exterior was frightening, yet hauntingly beautiful, the interior was soft and forthcoming. The floor was a strange hue of black-grey marble, covered with a tattered, purple carpet. Two rows of columns kept the ceiling aloft. On the walls in the hall hang pictures of famous demon generals and former emperors; and amongst the latter, her father's. But neither Wyrmina nor Golzor stopped to look at the pictures, or even gave them a second glance. All that mattered was to get to Quiser and find out if he had truly discovered the location of the Element Scroll.

Leaving the main hall, Wyrmina and Golzor turned a corner and proceeded down a cold hallway. Here there were no paintings to cover the walls; no windows to break the monotony of the cold, bare stone. It was crude in build, compared to the marble hall, and not even the floor had been covered by carpets. The two of them turned another corner, before they finally descended another set of winding stairs. Due to their protection from the elements, these stairs were in significantly better shape than the ones in the keep, all of them still covered in their original protection.

Once at the bottom, they arrived at what seemed like a library. Shelve after shelve filled with books and ancient scrolls formed row after row, which in turn made a maze; Wyrmina remembered that from her previous visit. Along the wall hang torches that lit up the library and with their flickering flames brought their shadows to live on the ground. Aboutevery ten meters, a small fireplace was carved into the wall. The fire that rose from the small fireplaces not only gave out a soft light, but also warmed the room a little more than necessary.

The princess and her knight made their way through the dusty, old maze and finally found what they were looking for. Bend over a table filled with scrolls and books stood a hooded figure. The person was tall but that was all that anyone could tell from behind. As Wyrmina called out, the man turned around and confirmed his identity. It was indeed Quiser, one of her more... competent henchmen. He was wearing a dark-blue cloak like always, obscuring his otherwise pale, wrinkled skin. On his face rested a pair of glasses.

"My princess" he said as he bowed.

"Why did you call me down here?" Wyrmina asked, unusually calm. Though Golzor had already told her, she wanted to be sure.

"Because I believe you will be most pleased with our progress" Quiser answered and motioned at the table. Wyrmina and Golzor walked closer and looked at the table, which was a mess of open books and unrolled scrolls. "As you can see from these papers" Quiser said as he reached for a stack on the far side of the table, "we have discovered the location of the Element Scroll." Quiser showed them a map of what appeared to be the area around Golden Spring. "Even though the map is 4000 years out of date, I have managed to pinpoint its location to nearly the exact spot." Quiser grabbed another, newer map and showed them, pointing somewhere north of the city. "As far as I can tell, the scroll should be hidden here."

"Good" Wyrmina said distantly and Quiser glanced at her. She usually never praised any of them for doing a good job, which meant she was either not paying attention, or planning something sinister. In this case, something told Quiser that it had to be the latter, rather than the former.

"If it's not too much to ask" Quiser started, "I would like to go with Golzor to the site and help find the scroll myself." Wyrmina turned and looked curiously at him. Quiser was not the type to volunteer to dangerous missions like this. "I believe I stand a better chance at finding it then Golzor, no offence." Golzor slowly nodded. He acknowledged Quiser as the smarter one of them, but he did not take lightly to being mocked. "Besides, I might be needed for some translation or something."

"Yeah, yeah, you can go" Wyrmina said and looked at the map again. "But I want you to bring along a demon."

"Do you not trust that I can defeat them?" Golzor asked calm, though his voice showed his anger.

"You haven't done very well so far" Wyrmina remarked and rolled up the map. "When can you summon one?" she asked Quiser.

"As soon as we get up to the laboratory" Quiser answered and lead the way.

After coming out of the library, getting up the stairs and walking through a myriad of hallways, they finally made it to the laboratory. The first thing they saw as they opened the door was a mess. Literately. The entire room was flooded in scrolls, open or torn books and loose papers. The round, wooden table that had once stood in the middle of the room was lying upside down, with two of its legs broken. The fire in the fireplace had nearly died out, and the few decorations that had been before, were now lying on the floor, destroyed. The bare stone walls were colder than usual.

"What happened here?" Wyrmina asked genuinely surprised. Quiser simply stood in the door, staring at the chaos in the room.

"Whatever you think happened, I don't think that you should think I'm responsible" a weak voice sounded from the room. Then a movement and the owner of the voice sat up. To nobody's surprise, it was Fuboon. Fuboon was Wyrminas... less competent henchman. He had ocean-blue skin, chubby cheeks and a large belly. He was small and clumsy in both appearance and his work, and was therefore given the most mindless of tasks. These usually involved being Quisers aide, but even that had he managed to screw up every now and then.

"What did you do this time?" Quiser sighed and ventured into the chaos and helped his friend – for he saw him as such – to his legs.

"I was just trying to help" Fuboon started clumsily. "It was always so messy in here and I wanted to surprise you by cleaning up. So I used a cleaning spell, but something must have gone wrong."

"I'd say" Golzor said so low that Fuboon couldn't hear him. Not that the small blue fool could hear anything over his sobbing.

"I trust that this mess will be no hindrance for you?" Wyrmina asked, trying to move on.

"Of course not" Quiser said and started searching for the paper he needed. It didn't take long to find, and soon Quiser was standing and reciting the formula. As soon as he spoke the first few words, a small, purple light appeared and began to pulsate. The rhythm with which it pulsated got faster and faster as Quiser got through the spell and the small light slowly grew in size. As he finished, the pulse grew to a large flash, before residing to an interdimensional hole, about 2 metres across.

The four who were assembled in the room got closer to the hole and looked into the purple void. It was a small pocket dimension, created millennia ago by the Atlantians to keep the demons trapped. The dimension itself was filled with purple, cyan and pinkish clouds, intertwining, mixing, forming patterns that transcended the human mind. Amongst the clouds were demons. Hundreds of demons. Some were smaller than Fuboon, others far taller than Golzor. Some of them had magic powers like Quiser, others relied on brute strength like Golzor, and others again had neither. Most of the demons were humanoid to some degree, but there were still plenty that were not. Some were in pain, others just drifted lazily.

"Do you have anyone in mind, my princess?" Quiser asked after they had all stared into the void for more than five minutes. Wyrmina didn't reply but looked at Golzor.

"That one" Golzor replied and pointed at a largely humanoid demon. The company stepped back to make room for the demon and as Golzor called out its name, a surge passed through the rift. The edge and surface rippled and as the tall, bulky demon appeared, there was a gust of wind, whirling the papers into the air.

"I am ready to serve" the demon said and kneeled.

"As am I" said the demon's other head.

"Good" Wyrmina said and looked at the two-headed giant. "You will accompany Golzor to Golden Spring. Your primary task is to protect him and Quiser."

"And our secondary?" the first head asked.

Wyrminas reply came swiftly: "To destroy the Power Rangers."

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The sky above Golden Spring was perfectly clear. The blue sky stretched as far as anyone could see, without a single cloud. The bright September sun shone down on the city, warming it to a point only slightly less than it had been a few weeks ago. School had already let out and the streets were roaming with children and teenagers. There was still time before the adults could leave work, but that didn't stop them from envying the younger members of the society.

As in the city, everything seemed at peace at the quarry north of town. The sky was as clear as it was above town. Old pine trees could be seen standing on the edge of the quarry; their shadows already stretching a bit into the pit. A hole went into one of the sides of the pit; an excavation. Mining tracks were going into it and a single mining cart was standing outside. There was no one around; none except Golzor, Quiser and the new demon.

"Is this the spot?" Golzor asked Quiser as he looked around. "If this is where they would choose to hide such an important item, I'm not impressed."

"Well, I'm sure they had time to think about fashion and other aesthetics" Quiser replied swiftly. "But according to my research, the scroll should be inside that cave."

"Alright." Golzor turned to the other demon. "You stay out here, guarding the entrance."

"Right" growled one head.

"Yes, sir" sounded the other.

"Good." Golzor turned back to Quiser. "Now, let's go" he said and both of them started to walk towards the cave.

But before they had even taken the first step, they heard a loud noise, a noise that came from a motorized vehicle. Golzor and Quiser looked in the direction of the sound and immediately saw five motorbikes appearing over the edge of the pit, continuing to soar through the air and landing on the bottom. On top of the bikes was a rider, wearing a suit whose colours matched that of their bikes. The bikes came to an abrupt halt in the other end of the quarry.

"Sorry to drop by" the Blue Ranger said cheerfully as he saw Golzor's growl.

"What are you up to now, tin-head?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, Rangers" Golzor replied with a snarl.

"Anything you do concerns us" the Red Ranger replied.

"We don't have time for this" Quiser hissed at Golzor.

"Right" he said, then turned to the demon. "You, take care of them."

"We will" both heads replied at the same time. Before the Rangers could say or do anything, Golzor and Quiser had already gone through the entrance to the excavation.

"Looks like it's just us and you then" Ben said, looking at the demon. The demon was tall, gigantic even. Its skin was tanned and had the colour of broken sand. On its body was a crude loincloth that covered most of its upper body as well. The bottom half of the cloth was adorned with bones, probably from its previous victims. Around both of its heads hang a single necklace, with a skull just above the loincloth. In its right hand was a club, pierced with bones. The club was the size of the demons upper body. In its left hand it held a shield, covered in something that looked like white fur. It was strapped to the demons arm and the shield had bones sticking out as well.

"Well, you, us and our Imps." As soon as he said that, several of the small creatures appeared, around 15 of them. Their grey scales glittered in the sun, and were it not for their twisted faces, sharp teeth and razor claws, they could almost look pretty. Then the monster bellowed the order. "ATTACK!" The Imps immediately flew towards the Rangers.

The Rangers jumped off their bikes and engaged the Imps in battle. The first Imp reached them and clawed at Ben, but he blocked the strike and gave it a swift kick, which sent it flying. Another came up at him from behind, but a swift whirlwind kick took care of it. A third Imp charged at him directly. Ben tried to avoid the blow but the Imp head butted him and Ben tumbled over. Before he could get up the Imp jumped and prepared to land at him. Ben rolled out of the way just in the nick of time, and with a swift manoeuvre brought the Imp to the ground. Ben got up, only to see the first two charge at him again.

"Don't they ever learn?" Ben thought. "Oh well. I'll just have to teach them a lesson." As they approached, Ben jumped and landed behind them. "Red Knight Sword" he called and a sword with a red hilt and crimson blade appeared in his hand. With sword in hand, Ben charged at the two Imps and delivered a single slash to their backs. The Imps fell over and this time they didn't move. Ben turned to see the last one attack him out of despair. He avoided the blow and gave the final strike, taking down yet another Imp.

Meanwhile, two Imps had launched at Katherine. The first kicked at her, but she was able to deflect the attack. The other attacked with its claws but Katherine managed to block that as well. Katherine tried to kick it away but the Imp blocked her kick with its small, yet strong arm. Katherine stood locked with the Imp for a few seconds, before the first Imp charged at her. Making a swift decision, Katherine pushed herself away and fell backwards, sacrificing her balance to stay unharmed. As the first Imp passed by, the second decided that she was vulnerable. It sprang at her right away, only to meet the wrong end of a blaster. As the small energy pellet hit the creature it flew backwards and Katherine jumped up.

"Yellow Knight Lance" she called out and a long, iron lance appeared in her hand. The iron was the colour of gold, yet strong as obsidian; the blade at the end had the sharpness of a diamond. The first Imp, now enraged, attacked her but Katherine wacked it in the back with the lance. Before it could retaliate, the Yellow Ranger slashed with the sharp end and the creature fell over. She spun around quickly and pierced the stomach of the other Imp. It too fell over.

Another place in the quarry, Joseph was pit against three Imps. The Imps had attacked him without remorse, leaving Joseph with no openings. He had been slowly pressed backwards, until his back hit the edge of the pit. Joseph sank, realising his predicament. One of the Imps threw a punch at him, which he managed to evade. The punch continued into the side of the quarry instead, causing small bits of rock and dust to tumble down. Then, an idea dawned in Joseph. As the next Imp attacked, Joseph evaded that too, forcing a little more gravel to fall down. He kept on avoiding their attacks for a minute, then went on the next part of his plan.

"Blue Knight Blades" he called as he jumped across the Imps. Two silvery blue blades appeared on his arms. As soon as he landed, Joseph turned around them and slashed them in their backs. The Imps flew forward into the side and the side was now visibly cracking. Before the Imps had time to do anything, Joseph dropped his blade, drew his blaster and fired at the cliff-side. An avalanche of gravel and dust followed, entombing them.

Elsewhere in the quarry, Sarah was busy dealing with Imps of her own. One charged at her, but Sarah jumped elegantly backwards, landing atop a small hill made of waste gravel. Another Imp tried to get at her, but again she jumped, this time landing on the Imp and set off again as it fell to the ground. The Pink Ranger landed perfectly but a third Imp rammed her from behind. She flew forward, tumbled over and got up. With all three Imps charging at her, Sarah pushed herself up and drew her blaster. She aimed while running towards them, jumped just before they could reach her, turned around in mid-air and fired. The pellets all connected with the middle Imp, which fell over, its back smoking where the pellets had hit.

"Pink Knight Sai" she called as she landed and weapons that could best be described as a pair of overgrown forks appeared in her hands. The hilt was pink and the blade silver. The middle blade was roughly twice as long as the two surrounding it. Before the Imps could react, Sarah aimed and threw her sai. They hit their targets right in the back and they too fell over.

As the other Rangers struggled, all was well with Travis. Even though he had four Imps attacking him, he had managed to deflect nearly every blow and the few he didn't deflect he could twist to avoid. The downside was that he had yet to inflict any damage on the four Imps. Another Imp attacked but now Travis had had enough. He grabbed its arm and swung it around, hoping to hit some of the other Imps. Unfortunately, they all managed to avoid it. Travis threw the Imp aside and one of the others attacked him immediately. Travis parried the punch and returned it, a fist straight to the head. The Imp flew back and the others became enraged.

"Green Knight Axe" the Green Ranger called and a giant axe appeared in his hands. The hilt was green, and the two, semi-oval blades had a different, more lucid hue. With a single, mighty sweep, both Imps lay on the ground, lifeless. The first Imp charged at him again, its wicked, little eyes screaming for revenge. Travis blocked its attack and swung his axe at it. Then the final Imp got up. Upon seeing its kin slain, the Imp turned tail and ran.

Now that all the Imps had been defeated, the Rangers reunited in front of the demon.

"Grr...Useless creeps" one of the heads growled.

"Agreed" the other replied.

"Alright, tell us why you are here" Ben commanded.

"Should we tell them?" the right head asked, looking at the left.

"I don't see why" replied the second. "I say we just kill them."

"Yeah" the first grinned. "That sounds better." Then, looking at the Rangers, it said. "Sorry, but we've decided not to tell you anything."

"Yeah, we're going to simply kill you instead" the left head said.

The Rangers just stared at the creature. None of them could believe what they had just witnessed. A two-headed creature, discussing something with itself aloud, only to tell them the answer, aloud. Apparently, the creature was dumber than it looked. But all of them woke up immediately as the creature charged at them, waving its giant club. As the club was brought down, all five Rangers had just enough time to jump out of the way before being squashed against the ground. The attack made a small crater in the ground.

"Damn" was all Travis could say before the beast attacked again.

The demon heaved its club up in a wide ark, nearly hitting Travis and Joseph in the process. The giant creature took a few slow steps towards Joseph and towered above him. Joseph looked up and froze. The demon was at least a full meter taller than him and the club had started moving downwards. He tried to move, but his legs wouldn't move. He closed his eyes. Just before the club would have hit, something knocked him over and the club battered into the ground. Joseph slowly opened his eyes and found the Green Ranger lying beside him.

"Thanks" Joseph said breathless.

"You're welcome" Travis answered.

As the two Rangers got up again, the demon was still trying to get its club out of the ground. They ran over to the others, who had had the sense to get on a little distance.

"What is that thing?" Ben asked.

"It's strong that's for sure" Katherine answered.

"If I'm not wrong, it's an Ettin" Joseph said, still shook up from before. "It's very strong and has a high stamina. Its biggest weakness though, is its slow speed and lack of intellect, despite having two brains." The others stared at him, gasping behind their visors. "What? I did some research on demons and stuff. Figured it could come in handy."

Before anyone had a chance to reply, the Ettin let out a mighty roar as it pulled its club loose. "Running away won't help you, Rangers" one of the heads bellowed.

"I'll find you no matter what" the other shouted.

"Don't you mean _we_ will find them?" the first asked back.

"That's what I said" the second replied. "We will find them." Their arguing went on for a little while longer but the Rangers had turned to themselves again.

"Looks like you were right about their intellect" Sarah commented.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Joseph asked, but Ben cut them off before he got an answer.

"Never mind that. What we need to do know is think of a plan to defeat that thing."

"Why don't we go with the standard hack-and-slash tactic?" Travis asked, lifting his axe.

"It might work, but we'll have to surround him" Katherine said.

"Let's get to it then" Ben said.

Now they all turned their attention to the Ettin, who had finally managed to stop arguing with itself. The five Rangers ran towards the giant, which was slowly moving towards them. It raised its club and swung it immediately down at the approaching Rangers, who ducked it easily. Flanking the Ettin, the Rangers immediately readied their weapons. But just as Ben was about to give the order, the Ettin bellowed and swung its club in a mighty ark. All five Rangers were hit and flew backwards from the force. They struggled to get up, but the blow had hit them hard.

The Ettin bellowed and moved towards Benjamin. The Red Ranger was still struggling to get up, but to no avail. The Ettin was now standing directly in front of him. It raised a leg, preparing to stomp him. The leg reached its zenith, then began its much faster decent. Ben managed to roll out of the way in just the last second to avoid becoming the size of a pancake. The Ettin laughed and kicked at him, but somehow Ben avoided that too. Ben got out of reach before the Ettin could attack again and got up. The others had gotten up in the meantime and the Rangers regrouped.

"Hack-and-slash tactics, eh?" Sarah said sarcastically, looking at Travis. Then she turned to Katherine. "Might work if we surround him, eh? Oh, yeah. That worked well."

"We don't have the time for this" Benjamin cut through. "We need to think of something. Fast!"

"I got it" Joseph said but the Ettin was on top of them, before he could continue. It swung its club to the ground and the Rangers barely had time to jump out of the way. Ben landed next to one of the legs and, tightening his grip on the sword, gave a strong slash. The sword easily cut the giant's body and the monster screamed in pain. On the other side of the Ettin, Travis saw his opportunity to plant his Axe in the back of the monster. Both heads screamed louder.

"Let's finish this!" Ben said.

Joseph called out the name of his weapon and slammed the blades together. They combined, forming a bow-like shape and he proceeded to throw it in front of the group where it hovered in the air. Katherine called out hers and split the lance in three. Then, each piece was thrown at the blades, forming small cannons on the underside. Now Sarah called hers and threw them in between the lance pieces. Travis called his and the axe changed form. The two blades split a little, and moved to form a long handle, with the two blades attached horizontally, rather than vertically, as they had been before. After its transformation, it was placed on the underside of the other weapons, encasing the lance and sais. Finally, Ben placed his sword on the top of the weapon and grabbed hold. Katherine and Joseph grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders, while Sarah and Travis supported the weapon.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster" they shouted, while targeting the Ettin. The monster had stopped howling and was now looking curiously at them. "FIRE!"An energy ball left the weapon. Though it moved slowly, gravity was wrapped around it as well as its target.

The Ettin smirked. "You'll need more than that to defeat me." Just as the shot was about to hit, the Ettin bashed away the energy ball with its club.

"No way!" Joseph cried out.

With its direction altered, the energy ball had now spun out of control. It flew into one of the sides of the quarry and exploded. The explosion collapsed the area and rubble flew through the air.

"I told you" the Ettin said. "It takes more than a few flesh wounds and some fancy toys to defeat me.

"Yeah" the other head said. "Only, I said that before."

"No, that was me" the first head insisted. The other head replied instantly and soon, the two heads were once again busy fighting each other rather than the Rangers, giving them a much needed break.

"I'm getting tired of being toyed with" Travis spat out as the Rangers regrouped once more.

"We all are, but we need a plan" Ben said, his patience with the Ettin growing thin.

"It must have some weakness we can use against it" Katherine said, frustrated. "But I can't find any."

"I think I can" Joseph said after a few seconds. "It's pretty dumb, right?" Joseph asked around. A little away the Ettin was still arguing, proving his point for him. "We tried to surround them but that didn't quite work out."

"You don't say" Sarah mumbled, barely audible.

"The reason we can't get close, is that the two heads, together, have 360-degree vision. No matter where we are, they will spot us. It's also slow, which can work to our advantage."

"So what do you suggest?" Ben asked.

"We talk to it" Joseph said, hiding a smile beneath the helmet.

"We what?" the others cried out as one.

"Talk to it" Joseph repeated. Joseph continued to explain his plan. As the others understood his idea the nodded and agreed and the plan was set into motion.

At Joseph's signal, Katherine and Travis ran towards the Ettin, attracting its attention. The Ettin stopped arguing and kicked after them, but the two Rangers nimbly dodged the attack, landing on each their side of the Ettin.

"Well, that didn't work" Travis said loudly enough for Katherine to hear it.

"No" she replied. "I'm sure it was because of the head on my side. It saw we came here and was smart enough to stop fighting."

"Damn right, you are" the left head said.

"What, no she's not" the other head said. "I'm the one who saw them coming."

"Oh, suuure" the left head said again. "With you looking the other way and all, I'm sure you saw them."

"Are you just going to take that?" Travis called up to the right head when it didn't immediately reply. "A strong, smart... head, like you?"

"He's right" the right head said. "I'm smarter than you. And stronger."

"Oh yeah?" the left head replied. "I'll show you." Without warning the left arm swung upwards, delivering a mighty blow to the right heads cheek.

"Bad move" the right head said and in return moved the right arm, still wielding the club, up and brought it down on the left head. The fight escalated immediately and soon the Ettin was wrestling with itself.

"NOW!" Joseph cried out. From behind the Ettin, Ben and Sarah jumped up. They had already drawn their blasters and pressed the trigger. Small pellets of red and pink colours flew towards the creature and hit it in the back, causing minor explosions. Joseph too had drawn his blaster and fired at it, releasing small, blue pellets. They too impacted and caused small, yet hurtful, explosions. Neither Katherine nor Travis wasted any time. They both jumped back a step and slashed with their weapons, causing the Ettin to fall to the ground.

"Alright," Ben said. "Let's try again."

"And pray for a better result" Katherine added.

Joseph called out the name of his weapon once more and slammed the blades together. They combined, forming a bow-like shape and he proceeded to throw it in front of the group where it hovered in the air. Katherine too called out hers and split the lance in three. Then, each piece was thrown at the blades, forming small cannons on the underside. Now Sarah called hers and threw them in between the lance pieces. Travis called his and the axe changed form. The two blades split a little, and moved to form a long handle, with the two blades attached horizontally, rather than vertically, as they had been before. After its transformation, it was placed on the underside of the other weapons, encasing the lance and sais. Finally, Ben placed his sword on the top of the weapon and grabbed hold. Katherine and Joseph once again grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders, while Sarah and Travis supported the weapon yet again.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster" they shouted, while targeting the Ettin. This time there was no smug smiles, no curiosity. The Ettin had been fooled, and it knew it. As the Rangers fired the weapon, a look of true horror appeared on its face. It tried to move, only to find that it could not. As the blast impacted there was a mighty explosion and the Rangers watched quietly as the explosion subsided and the Ettin was gone.

"And now for the other two" Ben said and lead the team towards the mine.

-----

-----

Immediately after ordering the Ettin to dispose of the Rangers, Golzor and Quiser had entered the small mine. It was dark, as it was in any mine, but a more natural darkness than the one that covered the castle where they lived. The tracks on the ground were well preserved, indicating that the mine was rather new. Electric lights were placed every five meters on the walls, but were for some reason turned off. Yet the place still had a feeling of abandonment to it. There were no sounds to be heard, other than the sounds from the battle that raged outside.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Golzor asked impatiently as they walked down the shaft.

"I will know when we find it" Quiser replied and continued his stride without delay. Golzor grunted and kept up. Wandering around here seemed pointless. They walked in silence for a few minutes. The sounds of the battle outside grew increasingly distant as they descended deeper and deeper into the mine. They followed the bending path at a constantly increasing pace, impatient to get to their destination.

Suddenly they both stopped dead. The tunnel, as it had been made just recently, ended here, in a well constructed hallway. Rather than the crude stone and ore that had prided the walls before, they were now made of the finest, blue-green marble. The surface was smooth and cold to the touch.

"Were getting closer" Quiser mumbled.

"About time" Golzor commented and took the first step into the hallway.

"To think" Quiser said after about a minute. "To be walking through the halls of a city, that once belonged to our enemies." Quiser was excited, looking around all the time, intent on not missing anything. Golzor gave another frown. "Did you know that, besides only a few Atlantians, no one has ever set foot in here? It is also said that..."

"I don't care" Golzor snared, instantly cutting Quiser off. "I have no patience for your history lessons." Now Quiser snorted.

They continued through the halls for a little while longer, hearing nothing but their own footsteps. The path turned left and Quiser stopped so abruptly that Golzor bumped right into him. "Why did you stop?" he growled.

"Look!" Quiser hissed and pointed ahead. In front of them was another short hallway, leading in to a larger, square room. In the room were four pillars, set an equal distance from one another. In the middle of the room was an altar made of gold with a small, wooden box on it. The hallway was bare, with the exception of two statues, standing across of each other. The statues were of a nondescript Atlantian, with its hands pressed at each other before the chest. On all the walls were torches, still lit by the magicks that once ignited them. "This is what we came for" Quiser said excited.

"Then why are we standing here?" Golzor said and stepped forward.

"Wait!" Quiser shouted, but too late. As soon as Golzor stepped into the hallway, two light blue beams shot out from the statues. The beams hit Golzor's armour and he was flung back into the wall behind him. He fell to the floor and Quiser rushed to his aid. "I told you to wait" he said as he helped the warrior back on his legs.

"What... what was that?" Golzor panted. The blow had completely sapped his strength.

"What I was trying to tell you before" Quiser answered, not able to hide mocking in his voice. He helped Golzor over to the edge of the hallway. "This place is protected by a powerful mechanism."

"Tell me something I don't know" Golzor snared.

Quiser continued as if Golzor had said nothing. "The Atlantians built it, in anticipation of a situation just as this. The hallway appears safe enough, but take a look at the statues." Golzor did and only saw what he had seen before; two statues that just stood there. "Now look at their hands" Quiser guided. Golzor did and at first saw nothing. Then something caught his attention and he squinted to get a better look. There, between the slightly bended fingers of the statues was a small, light blue crystal. It was nigh invisible to the naked eye, but now that he had seen it, it appeared as plain as day.

"So the statues have jewellery" Golzor said grumpy. "What of it?"

"That so called jewellery nearly killed you" Quiser replied calmly.

"So it's a trap?"

"Brilliant deduction."

Golzor grunted. "Spare me your sarcasm. How do we get past them?"

"Well, I'm still working on that" Quiser admitted and sat down, staring intensely at the crystals. Golzor let out a sigh and begun to pace back and forth. After about a minute the stress became too much.

"What have you found out?" Golzor asked.

"Not much, I'm afraid" Quiser replied. "As far as I can tell, the crystals are housing a powerful magic, and quite frankly, I'm..."

"Enough" Golzor said, cutting him off again. "You're making my head hurt."

"Then at least one of us is doing something productive."

"If there had been someone to replace you, I would kill you in a heartbeat" Golzor said angrily.

"If you do, you have to explain to Wyrmina why the mission failed" Quiser said reserved and returned to his work. Golzor moved a hand, as if to grab him, then thought the better of it and left him alone. Another minute passed in silence, when suddenly the feint sound of an explosion reached their ears. They both sprang to their feet. "They've defeated the Ettin" Quiser said.

"I know" Golzor replied, clenching his fists. "We're out of time" he said as he turned to face Quiser. "We have to go, now!"

"But I'm not done" he said.

"Then we have no choice" Golzor said as he rushed to the edge of the small hallway. He instantly raised his right arm up in front of his face, gathering power.

"Don't do it!" Quiser shouted. "You have no idea what will happen!"

"Do you?" Golzor roared back. Quiser said nothing. After all, there was nothing to say. Golzor turned his attention back to his arm. Gathering energy to send of a single blast was one thing. But to send a blast in to different ways at the same time, to destroy crystals that themselves were magical? That was an entirely different matter. "Here goes!" he roared and stretched his arm. A bolt of purple lightning left his fingers and made its way through the air, crackling with power. Midway it split into two, each end going for their own crystal. The first one hit clean on and exploded. A bright light enveloped them and the kinetic shockwave threw them against the walls. The explosion caused the other lightning to miss its target but still destroy the statue. The other gem fell to the ground and as another burst from the first explosion hit it, it cracked. When the light subsided, Quiser and Golzor were left staring at a demolished hallway, with free entrance into the small shrine.

"Well, I guess that works too" Quiser said, still recovering from the blasts.

"Shouldn't you get going?" Golzor asked. He had taken the blunt of the attack and was fatigued.

"Of course" Quiser said and got up. He limped slowly into the main chamber and passed freely up to the altar. It was beautifully adorned with figures of both Atlantians, demons and symbols even Quiser had no idea what meant. He touched them, expecting to find the golden altar cold to his touch. Instead he was surprised when he realised the altar was made of wood, not gold. It had simply been clad in gold. The altar was a fake. Quiser sank and turned his attention to the box. If the altar was a fake, then what of the box? Was this all an elaborate act to trap them? Was there anything in the box at all?

_The only way to know is to look_ he thought and slowly reached for the box. At least the box was what it appeared to be; made of wood with no gold plating. The box too was covered in drawings and symbols. He slowly grabbed hold of the lit, edged it off gently and peeked inside. A smile began to spread on his face and he removed the lit completely. Inside the box was the scroll he had been sent for. He took the scroll out of the box, halfway expecting something to happen, but nothing did. For a moment he considered to unroll it, just to check if it was the right scroll. But then again. The scroll was sealed with wax, and Wyrmina might not appreciate it if he looked at it without permission. And Quiser knew exactly what happened when Wyrmina was displeased.

"Did you get it?" Golzor called impatiently.

"Yes" Quiser replied and quickly stuffed the scroll into his satchel. He turned to leave, hesitated, then turned again. He carefully placed the lit on the box and put it back in its place. After making sure that everything was as he found it, he turned and ran over to Golzor. Without saying anything the unlikely team turned to leave the cavern, but stopped abruptly. In front of them were all five Rangers. Golzor muttered some inaudible curse but was otherwise silent.

"Halt it right there" Ben said.

"And why would we do that?" Golzor asked, completely hiding the damage he had taken before.

"Because we asked you nicely?" Joseph asked carefully.

"Laugh while you can" Golzor said. "Once I'm through with you, you won't be able to."

"Oh yeah?" Sarah asked. "Bring it!"

Golzor let out a roar and summoned his sword. A strange, purple cloud emanated from Golzor's hand. It hovered loosely in the air for a second, then moved to form the outline of a sword. The cloud grew thicker and more compact, then suddenly gave out a shining light. The flash lasted but a second before it grew dim, but a nicely carved sword now rested in Golzor's hand. The blade was made of a black metal, adorned with runes, and a handle of pure gold.

"We're ready for you" Ben said. With these words, Ben charged Golzor and slashed at him. Golzor quickly raised his sword and blocked the attack easily. The Red Ranger kicked at the armour-clad knight but that attack too was blocked. Ben jumped backwards, landed firmly and charged again. Rather than swinging the sword, Ben retracted his arm, only to fling them forward just before he came close to Golzor. But the knight had already foreseen the stab and it was an easy feat to gently whip the sword aside. Unable to stop, Ben hammered into the wall, which Golzor followed up by slamming the flat side of the sword into this back.

"Ben!" Katherine screamed and raced towards him. But she was forced to a stop before she was halfway there. The tip of the blade was less than an inch from her throat. Golzor made a movement to push the blade forward but the Yellow Ranger quickly stepped back. Katherine raised her lance and swung at Golzor. The blade barely connected with the armour but didn't make a single scratch. Before she could retract the lance, Golzor grabbed a hold of it and threw it away. The knight swung an iron fist at Katherine. The Yellow Ranger was unable to dodge the blow and was sent flying into the wall.

Not giving Golzor a moments rest, Travis charged at him with his axe. The green metal reflected the sputtering torches and gave it a feint, mystic glow. The axe collided with Golzor's armour, sending him skidding backwards. It was only a few feet but enough for Travis to get a good foothold and attack again. He swung the axe in a single hand but Golzor was able to stop the blow, countering with his own blade. Not wasting a second, Travis clenched his left fist and punched at Golzor. Golzor caught the blow in his iron grip only inches from his head. For a few moments, neither one of them moved, locked in a struggle for power and dominance. Then, with a sudden surge of strength, Golzor pulled and threw Travis into the wall behind him.

The Blue Ranger leapt at Golzor, ready to get back on him, but was caught in mid-air by the throat. Joseph's vision blurred as Golzor's grip tightened more and more around his throat. He struggled desperately, but to no avail; he couldn't break Golzor's grip. In a last, desperate effort, Joseph managed to draw his blaster and fire, not really caring about his aim. The blue energy pellet hit Golzor's legs and he lost his balance. He let go of Joseph as they both fell, allowing the blue Ranger to draw breath again. But before Joseph had time to recover Golzor was already up again and sent him flying towards Sarah with a swift kick.

The Pink Ranger caught her friend and carefully put him down on the floor. Looking angrily at Golzor she raced towards him. Golzor readied himself, bringing the sword back as if to swing it. But just before the Pink Ranger came in range she stopped, and back flipped. Golzor was taken by surprise as she in mid jump brought out her blaster, aimed and fired. A few pink pellets left the blaster and hit Golzor clean in the chest. He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his balance. Sarah landed and raced towards him, now equipped with her double sai instead. But just as she swung the first, Golzor extended an arm and grabbed hers. Now it was Sarah's turn to be surprised and Golzor took advantage of it, and threw her above his head into a barely standing Green Ranger, causing both to fall over.

Golzor collected himself. Even with the Rangers' attacks he had managed to recover a little from the blasts before. He looked around himself. The Pink and Green Ranger was behind him, the Blue in front of him and the Red and Yellow a little to the side. The Rangers might have been weakened, but they still possessed and advantage – they had him surrounded. He would need to break that somehow. All of the Rangers were now more or less on their feet and Golzor decided to go for the Green and Pink.

He turned around and in a few leaping steps reached his quarry. He swung his sword downwards, but the two Rangers dived aside, avoiding the blade. Sarah rolled and threw a sai at him, but Golzor deflected it with his sword and the sai fell to the ground. He launched at her, making a low swing with his sword. Sarah jumped to avoid it, only to realize the trap. Golzor gave her a swift and powerful headbutt and Sarah was sent flying backwards into the altar. She slid down, her head hanging down her shoulders. She had completely lost consciousness. A shimmer appeared and went away, revealing Sarah's demorphed form.

Travis immediately launched at Golzor, screaming. Golzor turned and brought up his blade just in time to block the axe. Travis slashed again and again, but Golzor parried blow after blow. Shifting his tactic, Travis kicked at Golzor. The kick hit, but there was no noteworthy effect. Golzor grabbed the foot with both hands and twisted. There was a loud crack as the ankle popped out of its joint. Travis fell over, now screaming in pain and took a gentle, protective hold of his already swollen ankle. He too shimmered and was no longer morphed.

Taking advantage of the distracted Rangers, Quiser began to slowly edge his way out along the wall. He had already passed most of the Rangers when Joseph suddenly saw him. Without saying anything, the Blue Ranger ran towards him. Quiser saw it and panicked. He was no fighter and his spells took time to prepare. Having no other option, he threw himself to the ground and rolled away, just before the Blue Ranger could strike him.

Golzor saw that Quiser had been discovered and began to walk towards him. But he had barely taken a single step before Ben and Katherine stood in his way, blocking his advance. The two Rangers raised their weapons, even Katherine who had gotten hold of her lance again. They both struck at him at the same time and Golzor's only retreat was a step backwards. Before they could follow up, however, Golzor raised his arm up in front of his head. A tiny, purple lightning began to flicker between his fingers as the power was build up. The moment he stretched his arm, a purple lightning shot out and struck the Rangers. The lightning exploded on their uniforms and the Rangers were sent into the walls, causing them to demorph as well.

His path cleared, he raced towards Joseph who was about to hit Quiser. With a mighty tackle, the Blue Ranger was pushed into the wall and demorphed. Quiser seized the moment to escape and ran as fast as his robe allowed him. Golzor followed him, leaving the Rangers to themselves. Joseph staggered up and saw the two of them turn a corner. For a brief moment, Joseph considered following them, but with his current condition, he would only engager himself.

He slowly made his way over to Katherine. He bent down and checked her pulse. It was weak, but beating. He roused her gently and as soon as he was sure she was awake, did the same to Benjamin. Helping each other up, the three teens made their way over to Travis. Ben sat down and checked up on him, while Joseph and Katherine proceeded over to Sarah. She was hurt badly, but still breathing. It took a few minutes before they finally revived her. The two of them were able to get her up and going and they all gathered over at Travis and Ben. Then, slowly, they made their way out of the mine.

-----

-----

As soon as they arrived in Atlantis, all five Rangers were taken away to see a doctor. It didn't take long to cure the most superficial wounds, but getting Travis' ankle back together again was a little trickier. It didn't take long before Haslan came down to greet them. Upon his request, Ben and Joseph began to tell him of all that had happened down in the mine. How they had fought the Ettin, chased after Golzor and Quiser and how Golzor and Quiser got away.

"I see" Haslan said as the two teens concluded the story.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to follow them" Joseph said.

"Don't be" Haslan said. "You were too weakened to do anything as you were. Same goes for the others."

Joseph said nothing and for a few moments they were all quiet. "But what did they want in that mine?" Joseph pondered out loud. "I mean, there's got to be a reason they went down there... But what?"

"A good question" Haslan said. He, too, had wondered why they were there.

"Oh, I nearly forgot" Ben said. "We let out a few things. When we found Golzor and Quiser, they were standing in a hallway, next to some ruins." Haslan looked at Ben, his eyes intense.

"Yeah, and there was an altar too, though I can't remember what it looked like" Joseph joined in.

"With a little, wooden box on top?" Haslan asked, his voice wobbly.

"I think so" Ben said. "Why?"

"Oh no" Haslan said weak, as if he had been punched hard. He fumbled for a chair and sat down, his body shaking.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

"Not now" Haslan replied. "Get the other Rangers first." Without waiting for an explanation, Ben and Joseph walked back to the others. Katherine and Sarah were good to go, but the doctors wanted to hold Travis for another few minutes, while they healed his foot. The others sat down and when Sarah asked why they had come, Ben explained that Haslan wanted to see them.

Finally they released Travis who walked surprisingly well. While Travis got up, Ben noticed a single bed was completely surrounded by curtains. When he asked a nurse about it, he was told that it was nothing, merely standard procedure. The teens left and gathered around Haslan who started telling.

"We have not yet told you everything" Haslan said. "Nor is the time right to tell you it all now. But you should know this. 4000 years ago, when we were still fighting Wyrmina's forces, we had five brave young warriors stand up to her, using the very powers you are using now. But not just that, these knights also held the power of the elements. Only a select few knew how to obtain this power. When most was slain during the fights, a few of those knowledgeable gathered and wrote down how to obtain the power, hiding the scroll somewhere evil would never find it. They hid the location even for us, so we could not betray it. They set up protective measures and hoped that they would one day be able to retrieve the scroll. But they were killed before the end of the war and no one knew where it was.

"But now that Wyrmina and her henchmen have the scroll, it is only a matter of time before they can use it. I urge you, please beware. There's no telling when or how they'll use the scroll. But one thing's for sure: When they do, know that all will be lost."

The Rangers were silent, taking it all in. The tale was far from detailed enough, but the basic outline was clear. If they were not able to get the scroll from Wyrmina and her forces, things would soon grow even more serious.

-----

-----

The spirit was high when Golzor and Quiser returned from their mission. Wyrmina had been eagerly waiting for their return and was pleased with their apparent success. Fuboon too, had been waiting eagerly and had somehow managed to bake a cake without ruining the castle's kitchen. He was standing a little behind Wyrmina, cake in hand, when Golzor and Quiser returned. Quiser marched up to Wyrmina and kneeled.

"The scroll, as you requested" he said and held up the scroll. Wyrmina smiled, took it and slowly unrolled it. But soon her smile turned to a frown and her once pleasant eyes grew dark with fury.

"What is this?" she raged.

"The Elemental Scroll" Quiser said stunned. "That was the one you requested, right?"

"You fool!" she screamed and passed him the scroll. Quiser took and looked it over and understood her fury. The letters were mingled and mixed between each other; others again were twisted into symbols he had never seen before.

"An encryption spell" he mumbled. "I hadn't seen that one coming."

"Well you should" Wyrmina shouted and left before Quiser could apologize. Fuboon quivered as she went past, but when he realised that she didn't take a swing at him he relaxed. Golzor grunted and left, leaving Fuboon and Quiser alone in the main hall. Fuboon slowly started towards Quiser, who in turn just passed by him, already swallowed in by the scroll. He closed the door after him and left Fuboon alone in the room.

Then, his little, chubby voice filled the empty room. "Doesn't anybody want cake?"

* * *

Naaw... poor Fuboon. Nobody wanted to taste his cake. Then again, just because he didn't ruin the kitchen doesn't mean that the cake is a success. Since I don't really like the idea of telling what will happen in the next chapter, you'll just have to be patient. However, (foreshadowing alert) you might want to re-read some of the newer chapters, in order to remind yourself of what's going on.


	7. Chapter 7: Unearthed Tombs

Boy am I spoiling you guys... Two chapters within 30 days of each other? Outrageous, I say.

I'm just kidding. I'm actually glad that I could finish this chapter at the time I did. Then again - 7 pages or so over the course of two evenings, will do something about it. So enjoy. Here is the 7th episode of Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights.

* * *

**Episode 7: Unearthed Tombs**

"...And now for the weather: The warm temperatures are going to stay with us for at least another week without any signs of rain or storms. We can expect a little wind though, but for those of you still wearing shorts, it shouldn't be a problem. We'll be back with more news in 15 minutes." The bartender turned down the volume a bit on the small TV and continued to polish the glass he had been working on before the forecast. He had a smile on his chubby face, he always had. He looked out over the floor, and while there were only few people now, he knew that the place would be buzzing in mere minutes.

The few people that were present, however, were divided in two groups. The first group were situated in the lower, further part of the centre. Here there were placed a variety of training machines and other workout facilities. The teenagers and young adults were training vigorously, but safely, making sure to take every precaution. It was one of the few rules he had; always train safely and with another watching over you. It seemed like a reasonable precaution and he never swayed from it. The other group was sitting at a few, scattered tables in the elevated, closer part of the centre. Here, tables and chairs were set up for youths who needed a place to relax and socialize or couples on a romantic dinner. A single, such couple was sitting at one of the tables, reminding him of his own youth, which only made his smile even broader.

He put down his glass and went over to them, taking their orders. After jolting it down on a small notepad, he walked back behind the bar. Blending their shakes took no time at all, and he even added a small plate of fruit for them to enjoy while waiting for the main course. The couple happily accepted it and the bartender left them to their privacy.

Just as he finished a series of glasses, the doors were opened and more than 30 teenagers entered. Some of them were carrying training bags, others already dressed in their workout clothes. Others again were clad in regular clothes, with their school bags filled with books and homework. It didn't take long for the teens to settle in, and in less than 5 minutes, the bartender was busy serving his customers.

Katherine appeared in the doorway and looked around. She was supposed to meet the gang here, but so far she seemed like the only one there. She walked up to the bar, still keeping a vivid lookout. She couldn't see any of them and sat down on one of the barstools. The stools were incredibly clean and comfortable.

"Hey Ernie" she said, greeting the bartender as he walked up to her.

"Hey there" he replied, wiping away sweat on his forehead. Even though he was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts and the air-conditioning was on, it was still amazingly hot.

"Have you seen Ben or any of the others?" she asked.

"Can't say I have" Ernie replied. "But then again, it is a little crowded."

"Yeah" Katherine sighed. She ordered a shake and walked over to the railing, looking out over the training area. Most of the many machines were occupied and their users going hard at it. Some of them were doing it for fun; she knew that as a fact, while others did it for their own reasons. In the middle of the area, some of the pupils at the Martial Arts Gym were training with each other, though neither Ben nor Travis was present. A little discouraged she walked back to the bar and sat down again.

She didn't wait long before Travis and Joseph came in. Katherine began to rise to greet them, but then noticed Joseph's mood and thought better of it. Travis noticed her, however, and guided Joseph over. The boys sat on a barstool and Joseph's head made immediate contact with the desk. He didn't move a muscle or complain about it.

"What's with him?" Katherine whispered to Travis.

"Frantz" he answered. "He was bullying Joseph into doing his homework again and things got a little rough before I could interrupt him."

Katherine nodded. She looked at Joseph again, who still had not moved a muscle. She got Ernie's attention and ordered Joseph a juice while Travis ordered his own. She sat the juice in front of Joseph, still without any reaction.

"Well" she said resigning. "I've tried about all I can think off."

"Let me" Ernie cut in before Travis had a chance. "Hey, buddy" he said slowly into Joseph's ear. "If you can drink that juice in five seconds, I'll give you a second one for free." The reaction came so abrupt that Ernie barely had time to move away. Joseph flung his head up, grabbed the juice and poured the content into his mouth. As soon as the glass was empty he put it down and gulped the last of the fluid.

"Done" he said with a smile. "So, did I make it?"

Ernie smiled and shook his head. "Sure, kid" he said grinning, then handed him another juice. "Here you go."

"Thanks" Joseph said and took a sip.

"That sure cheered you up" Katherine said smiling.

"Nothing like free food and drink" Joseph replied with a grin.

"That reminds me" Travis said suddenly. "Ben and Sarah couldn't come today."

"Huh? Why not?" Katherine asked.

"Well" Travis started. "Ben had to watch over his brother. I think their mom was out of town today and his brother is sick, so Ben went straight home after school to look after him. As for Sarah..." He paused, trying to remember. "Well, I can't remember what Sarah had to do, but I can remember that she wouldn't have time to come."

"Oh" Katherine replied. The y hadn't all been together since they lost the last fight. Today's get-together was supposed to change that. But apparently, things were going to be different.

"Well, I'd better get going" Travis said a few minutes later and got of the chair. "I have an assignment for my art class to complete."

"Art class?" Katherine asked choked.

"Don't ask" Travis said smiling.

"And we're back with more news" the TV-set sounded and a picture of a female reporter standing in a cemetery appeared. "Another strike of vandalism has hit the city cemetery" the reporter said.

"Hey, Ernie, could you turn the volume up a bit?" Travis asked and got down on the chair again.

"Sure" Ernie replied and turned the volume up a notch.

"I thought you said you had to leave?" Katherine asked.

"Ssh" Travis ushered and they focus on the TV.

"...fifth attack on the cemetery" the reporter explained. "The attacks all began a little over a week ago, but so far the attacks have been sporadic. The only visible pattern is that only new graves are attacked and vandalized." The screen shifted to show a picture of one of the defiled graves. The earth was dug up and scattered randomly, as if dug up by an animal. The flowers were ripped up and apart and their vases shattered. The headstone itself seemed undamaged, though mould and dirt was visible on it. "As you can see, everything is absolutely ruined" the reporter continued. The image shifted back to her. "So far, the police are without clues as to whom, or who, the perpetrator is. If anyone has any leads, they can call the police on the number on the screen. This is Claire Graham, GSTV."

"Who would do such a thing?" Ernie asked himself out loud as he turned the volume back down. At the bar behind him the three teens had already stuck their heads together.

"Could it be Wyrmina?" Joseph whispered.

"Probably" Katherine answered, her voice shaking a bit.

"Maybe we should go check it out" Travis asked.

"Didn't you have an assignment to do?" Katherine asked sceptic.

"Yeah, I had" Travis replied. "But art class can wait." The teenagers got off the chairs slowly and made their way out of the bar. When Ernie finally turned around again the teens were gone, leaving only money to pay for the drinks.

-----

-----

Even though the sun had begun its slow descent towards the western horizon, it was still bright when they made it to the cemetery. They parked their bicycles and entered through the iron-wrought gate. The church connected to the graveyard, was located in the western part of the area, beautifully illuminated by the sun. The headstones were arranged in various patterns. Here they formed a series of circles with a small monument in the centre; there a series of rows and columns.

The three teenagers walked slowly through the gravel filled paths. The gravel rattled underneath their feet and the occasional dry twig gave a loud snap when stepped on.

"Shouldn't we call the others" Joseph asked, sounding just a little scared.

"No" Travis replied calm. "As said, Ben's taking care of his brother and Sarah is otherwise occupied. We can't just call them without a good reason." They followed the path into a circular pattern and followed it a little while, then stopped.

"This is where the first attack appeared" Katherine said. Even though it had been a little over a week ago, the site still showed clear signs of the attack. The actual grave had been covered again and the gravestone cleaned. There had even been placed new flowers in new vases. The only visible signs were the hedge around the gravesite. Many of the small branches were torn or broken off entirely.

"I don't see anything unusual" Joseph said after about a minute.

"Nor do I" Travis agreed.

"Hmm... let's try the next one" Katherine said.

The boys followed her around until they found the second site. They walked in stillness; the only sounds they could hear were those of birds in the distance and the gravel crunching beneath them. They found the second one which looked no different than the other. The soil had been dug up and replaced, as had the flowers. The hedge here too was a mess of broken twigs and branches.

"Nope" Joseph said. "I don't see anything on this one either. Maybe it's all just a prank?"

"Maybe" Katherine said reluctantly. "Though I can't imagine who would do such a thing."

"Frantz" Joseph coughed, forcing a smile on the other's lips.

"Well, even if it is just a prank, and then a rather cruel one at that, we should still check out the others, just to make sure there's no foul play involved" Katherine said as she began to go. Joseph followed her, and then Travis, though he stopped right away. He thought he had seen something in the corner of his eye and bend down to check it out.

"I don't think we have to" he said loud enough for the others to hear, who in turn came running back. Travis was hunching over the grave and dusted some of the mould off the headstone. "See these?" he asked and pointed at the corner of the stone. There were small rifts in the stone. The small trenches were rough and seemed to be made from claws or the like. The trenches were about a fingers' width apart.

Joseph sank. "What are those?"

"I don't know" Travis said. "But I bet they have been caused by whatever was here." The three teenagers went quiet. There was no doubt about it anymore. There was definitely foul play involved.

"We should probably tell Haslan about this" Katherine said and reached for her morpher in her bag.

"Why tell him when we can show him?" Travis asked as he took a small camera from his bag.

"Why are you running around with a camera?" Joseph asked. He couldn't imagine Travis as the type who took pictures for fun.

"It's for my art project" he answered distracted and took a few pictures. "Alright, let's go" he said when he was done. The three teenagers got up and left the cemetery as quietly as they had come, got on their bikes and headed north.

-----

-----

"Rangers, good to see you" Haslan said smiling as they entered the throne room. The giant room was as always adorned with paintings and tapestries on the coral, blue-green walls. A long, purple carpet stretched from the elevated thrones to the huge double doors. From the ceiling hung a giant chandelier, with over a hundred candles that never burned out. There were unusually many people in the room, however; many of which the Rangers had not met before. Only few of them seemed slightly familiar. The Captain which they knew and another Atlantian they had almost bumped into a few weeks ago.

"Hey, Haslan" Travis replied.

"Why have you come today?" he asked still smiling. His eyes showed concern, though the Rangers had a feeling that it was completely unrelated to their visit.

"We hope you can identify something for us" Katherine said.

"Like what?"

"Like these claw-marks" Travis said as he turned on his camera and found the pictures in the internal memory.

"Fascinating" Haslan mumbled as he took the device and studied it. The small digital camera was a silvery-grey colour, with black text and symbols explaining every button. He turned and twisted it, studying it closely, until Travis led his attention to the picture. Haslan looked at the headstone and the claw-marks a little, then called the Captain of the Guard, Janza, over. Janza took one look on the picture, and grew stiff.

"What is it?" Joseph asked after a minute.

"These pictures" Janza asked slowly. "Where did you get them?"

"From the local cemetery" Katherine said and explained the situation.

"Hmm... From the looks of it, this one has been on the loose for nearly two weeks now" Janza said slowly.

"But what is it?" Joseph asked, now dying with curiosity.

"These marks are left by an abomination to nature; a being so twisted that it should never have walked the earth." The Rangers sank, now genuinely frightened. "This being is called a Ghoul" Janza explained. "The reason the graves are dug up, is that it feasts on the newly dead and even on occasion those still alive." A shiver ran down the Rangers' backs.

"Where are the other two?" Haslan asked, just noting that there were only three of them.

"Ben and Sarah are occupied" Joseph replied.

"Should we look in to this" Katherine asked, referring to the Ghoul.

"You should" Haslan said hesitantly. "But I would not advice it just the three of you."

"Alright" Travis said, taking back his camera. "We'll make sure to call them if we need them."

"Well, we're off" Joseph said and turned around. Katherine and Travis turned as well and the three Rangers started to walk.

"Oh, and Rangers" Haslan called as they reached the doors. They stopped and turned to listen. "When you get back... could you teach me how that device works?" There was real curiosity in Haslan's voice.

"Sure" Travis said smiling. Shaking his head, he and his fellow two Rangers stepped out through the double doors.

"Do you think they can do it?" a concerned Haslan asked Janza.

"If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I would have said no" Janza replied, staring at the door they had left through. "But... they have grown. Even though they don't know it yet, the defeat they suffered last week will only fuel their desire to work better and harder." Now he turned to look at the King. "So yes. I believe they can defeat it."

Haslan smiled with relief and relaxed a bit. _Now if only I could get MY work done_ he thought as he smiled for himself. He walked back to the throne and sat down, ready to drown himself in administrative work. "Have you made any progress in regards to Wyrmina?" he asked the Atlantian he had been talking to before the Rangers had come. The man was tall and wore a long, white lab-coat and glasses. His white hair was cut short in front and reached his neck in the back. He held a paper report in his slim, bony hands.

"Not as such, sire" he replied in a raspy voice. "All we have been able to determine is that the energy measured by our scientists through the past few months has started climbing again." He handed the king the papers and explain the graphs and figures. "As you can see, there is definitely talk about a pattern. We are close to uncovering the reason for all of this."

"Keep working on it" Haslan said as he handed back the papers. Even after the explanation, the figures and graphs were still an undecipherable mess to him. "I want to know whenever the situation changes; no matter how insignificant."

"Yes, sire" the scientist rasped, bowed and left the room. The king slumped in his throne and sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

-----

-----

About an hour later, the three teenagers were back at the cemetery. They had each stopped by at their homes, alerting their parents that they would be out late. Now that the sun had gotten closer to the horizon, the black metal gate flared in red and orange hues, as were it made of flames. A soft wind blew through the parking lot, sending a shiver up their spines. The three Rangers simply stood there on the parking lot, staring at the flaring gate.

"This is the first time we're not doing this as a team" Katherine said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Joseph and Travis knew how she felt. Ever since they had become Rangers, they had done everything together, but after the loss last week, nothing had been the same. What was their friendship and teamwork coming to, if they couldn't even fight the common demons together anymore?

"Well" Joseph said after a minute. "Shall we enter?"

"Let us" Travis said and opened the gate. The iron hinges gave a soft shriek as old hinges do, but it still sent another shiver down their backs. The three Rangers slowly walked through the paths of the graveyard, looking for clues, staying alert in case of traps or attacks. Even though it was still warm and the air still, even the slightest gust made the leaves rattle and sent yet another shiver up their backs. Another gust blew and a small, bare bush tapped on a nearby headstone. After half an hour of searching they had found no trace of the Ghoul and were now standing in front of one of the disgraced headstones.

"Well that went well" Joseph said relieved. "It's not here, so we can leave now." Joseph turned his back to the grave and was about to leave when Travis caught him by the collar. "Hey" he choked.

"We're staying" he said, mimicking the determination Ben usually had.

"But it's not here" Joseph said. "We've hit a dead end. Literally!" Joseph flung out his arms.

"Maybe it's still too bright" Katherine mused. "After all, if it unearths graves in order to..." she shuddered "...find food, then it might only come out when it's dark."

"I was thinking the same thing" Travis said.

"I was thinking how nice my bed seems right now" Joseph mumbled but stopped struggling. He knew they had to stay, even before the others made their case. "Well, since we'll be here for a while, we might as well find shelter, or at least somewhere cosy." _As cosy as it can be at a cemetery._

"Good thinking, Joseph" Travis said. "If I'm right, the north-western part of the cemetery holds a few mausoleums. We might be able to find shelter there." The others couldn't agree more. They made their way back to the entrance, a fairly simple trip that did not take much more than five minutes. They found a map and, after consulting it, made their way towards the north-west area. The path there was a little more difficult. The mausoleums were over a hundred years old, if not more, and the graves around the area, a maze. The three teenagers slowly walked though the gravel-laid paths, walking as softly and quietly as they could, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity.

After about ten minutes they stood before the mausoleums. None of them had ever been in that part of the cemetery before and were surprised to see over ten of them, scattered around a large area, with smaller graves in between. Most of the mausoleums were in decent condition, despite the lack of maintenance. They all had most of their roof, if not all of it and only on a few of the mausoleums were any of the walls visibly damaged. On most of the crypts were carved creatures; gargoyles, angels and other guardians.

"It's like a small, undead community" Joseph said quietly, staring at the scene.

"Just how big is this area?" Katherine asked. The cemetery was located in the western part of the city, but it had never seemed so big from the outside.

"I don't know" Travis said. Then, with a sudden curiosity, he asked: "What time is it?"

"Let me check" Joseph replied. "8:40 pm. Why?"

"Look around you. It's usually not this dark until at least 10:00 pm." Katherine and Joseph looked around them and realised what Travis meant. It had indeed grown dark. The sky above, which had housed the setting sun only ten minutes ago, was now pitch-black and clouded, letting not a single ray of light through. There was not a trace of a moon and even if the sky above was filled with stars, it would be impossible to detect them through the clouds. The tree-line that surrounded the area was now bare and barren, rather than the lush green that had been there before. Even the ground beneath them had gone from a soft green to a broken, blackish plain, toppled with cracks and small rocks. The winds also blew more frequently and stronger; a sudden gust nearly knocked over the three teenagers.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" Joseph uttered astounded.

"But where are we?" Katherine added. "Not Golden Springs, that's for sure."

"Let's see if Haslan has an answer" Travis said. The other two got over to him and Travis raised his morpher, which doubled as a communication device to Atlantis. "Haslan, this is Travis. Come in." The three teenagers held their breath as they awaited Haslan's reply. Ten seconds passed by without anything. Twenty seconds. Thirty. "Haslan, do you read us?" Travis tried again, but to no avail. The morpher was as silent as before.

"I'm thinking no" Joseph said, stating the obvious.

"So what do we do?" Katherine asked, brushing away a lock of hair from her forehead.

"I guess we should try and find our way back" Travis said, though he had no idea how they had gotten to wherever they were or how to get away.

"For the record, this never would have happened if we had just gone home like I suggested" Joseph pointed out. The others ignored him. They started looking around for an exit, but none of the places they looked offered even the slightest trace of a way back. At first they tried to retrace their steps, but the path they had used to enter the area seemed to have vanished, and the other few paths that were there lead right back to the area. Travis wanted to search the paths one more time, while Katherine started examining the tree-line. Joseph walked over to the closest mausoleum.

The stone walls were cold to the touch. He tried the door but it didn't budge. He walked around it slowly. The dark stones were as cold and uninviting as the ones on the front. There were no windows or rifts; just a cold, solid wall. Joseph sank down behind the mausoleum, taking a break. He learned his head against the cold stone and looked up. The clouds were as thick as before, if not thicker, and a lightning flared in the distance. _Just what we need_ Joseph thought. _A storm. Perfect!_ The teenager got up and was just about to go alert his friends, when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

Joseph turned around and looked, but saw nothing. He started to walk towards the others again, but once more caught something in the corner of his eye; a shadow moving from one crypt to the other. The teen turned again but the only movement he could see were the branches bending in a gust. Still, Joseph walked towards where he had seen movement. He approached the front of one of the mausoleums and went around the corner. A shadow swiftly ducked behind the back of the building and Joseph crept closer, trying not to make a noise.

As he neared the corner he took a deep breath. Maybe the Ghoul was lurking just on the other side. Maybe a far more powerful and sinister beast? Joseph tried not to choke as that possibility dawned for him. Whatever was lurking behind there, he was the only one nearby. Joseph let out his breath, took a new one and sprang around the corner.

Nothing could prepare him for the sight that awaited him. In front of him, only a few meters away, stood a creature, resembling a grown person. But it was nothing more than that; a resemblance. The skin was blue-gray and wrinkled. Every bone and muscle could be seen flex beneath the thin skin. The eyes were white balls, sunk into black crevices. The nails were stained red with dried blood, just like its teeth which looked like they had been sharpened with a file. It was naked but for a loincloth around its waist. Worse than its looks, was the smell. Not only did its body bear traces of past dinners, the creature itself smelled like a hundred corpses, all decomposing at the same time. Joseph immediately raised his hands to protect his nose, but even through his hands the smell was just as strong.

For a moment, both of them just stood there, looking at each other. The Ghoul looked at him as were he its next supper. At least, Joseph thought it did. Slowly, Joseph moved a single leg behind him, edging away as slowly as he could. Joseph took another small step. Then another. He finally got back to the corner. Just as he started to duck behind it, the Ghoul launched. It charged at Joseph with a terrifying speed; so fast that Joseph was paralyzed with fear and awe. The blow hit Joseph harder than he had expected and the teenager was flung backwards, landing at a small headstone.

The Ghoul jumped and descended towards Joseph, its sharp nails resembling claws. For an instant, Joseph recalled the tombstone back in Golden Springs. He could clearly visualize how those nails had slashed at the stone, digging deep, claw-like trenches in material as sturdy as marble. If they could cut through solid stone like butter, what couldn't they do to human flesh? A mental picture came into Joseph's mind; a picture he would have preferred to be without.

In the last possible second, Joseph gathered his courage and rolled away. The Ghoul landed with a soft thump, its nails clawing the ground where he lay only seconds ago. The Ghoul quickly retracted its arms and threw itself at Joseph, arms and nails flailing madly. Its eyes had a mad look to. Joseph managed to get his arms up in time, but the impact still hurt. He tried to raise a leg to kick the monster away, but it had robbed him the use of his legs. The Ghoul pressed harder, trying to get to claw at his face. Joseph had to use all his strength just to keep it at bay.

_I have to think of something, fast. Otherwise, I'm done for_ he thought. The Ghoul moved a little, and suddenly a sharp pain shot up through Joseph's stomach. The creature had planted its knee in it, in an attempt to weaken his defence. A spasm went over his face, his eyes closed and his arms weakened, as the full force of the blow hit him. Joseph coughed and thought he tasted blood in the air that passed through his mouth. _Not... fast enough..._

Suddenly the pressure disappeared and he heard a loud cracking noise. Joseph forced his eyes open and saw that the Ghoul had been kicked away, into another headstone. The cracking sound had been the stone that broke. Joseph looked above him and saw an extended hand. It was Katherine!

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned. Joseph raised a weak arm and grasped her hand.

"I'll live" he said, as she helped him back on his feet. "When did you guys get here?"

"We heard a sound" Sarah explained. "Since you weren't with us we ran around here and found you."

"And just in time it seems" Travis joined in. "Can you fight?" Joseph sank and nodded. He could try, at least. "Good, cause we have company." Katherine and Joseph looked over at the Ghoul and gasped. Surrounding the filthy, smelly demon were ten smaller, winged creatures. Their grey scales resembled that of the Ghoul; their claws equal to the demons nails.

"Imps!" Katherine spat. "For once, I'd like to fight a demon without these pesky, little things."

"Maybe so, but not today" Travis remarked. He positioned himself between the Imps and Joseph, with Katherine at his side. "Try and stay out the fight" Travis said over his shoulder. "We'll keep you safe. Only engage if they come behind us. Got that?" Joseph nodded, knowing that even if he did fight he would probably only bring them in further danger.

Without warning the first four Imps rushed at Travis and Katherine. One of them clawed at Travis, but he blocked the attack with his left arm and threw a punch with his right before the Imp had a chance to defend itself. The other kicked at Katherine who caught the kick and threw its leg upwards, sending the Imp into an unwilling somersault. The Imp crashed on the ground, but another quickly took its place. It sent a small, scaly punch towards Katherine but she grabbed the punch inches from her stomach. Holding the arm locked, she kicked at the Imps head. The small creature ducked and sent a punch towards exposed tummy. The punch connected and Katherine skidded back a few feet.

"You okay?" Travis asked as he kicked the Imp away.

"That hurt" Katherine gasped, holding her stomach. She took a step forward and caught an Imp just in time. She twisted and the small creature was flung on its back. Katherine gave the Imp a hard kick, causing it to fly into another Imp, who was just getting up. The two Imps fell over and crashed. Another one lunged itself at the teenagers, but Travis intercepted it and sent it flying.

Now the remaining six Imps threw themselves into the fray. The first two went directly towards Katherine. She protected herself with her arms, but the Imps grabbed them and held her steady. In a coordinated move the two of them heaved and Katherine tumbled to the ground. Before she could get up, the two Imps had already pinned her to the ground. Travis moved to free her, but another two Imps got in his way. Travis kicked at them, but the first one caught his leg, clearing the way for the second to attack. The attack came in form of a scaly punch directly in Travis' abdomen. Travis gasped as the air was pushed out of his lungs and stumbled to the ground. The final two Imps ran towards a now unguarded Joseph. They bypassed the pinned down Rangers in a few leaps; standing in front of Joseph after only another. The first Imp threw a punch at Joseph. He was still weak after the assault from before, but he managed to dodge the first punch. The other quickly dropped down, supported itself on its hands and made a low sweep, which took Joseph by surprise. He fell over, and landed hard on his back. The Imps wasted no time, quickly pinning him to the ground too.

The three helpless Rangers could do nothing but watch, as the wicked Ghoul crept closer. Saliva seemed to drop from its teeth, but whether it was in apprehension of the forthcoming meal or an ugly force of habit was not clear. Travis tried to move, but despite their small size, the Imps were surprisingly heavy when on-top of you. As the wrinkled demon slowly crept closer, Travis knew there was only one thing to do. He had to morph. But both of his arms were immobilised, how was he to do it?

_Dammit!_ He thought. _I need to morph. My friends are in danger, but I can't reach the sphere and morpher._ Travis struggled, but no matter what, he could not get free. The wrinkled creature crept ever closer, the threat of impending doom got ever stronger. Travis cleansed his fists. There was nothing he could do at all.

Then, suddenly, a small light emanated from his right hand, and he felt something. He opened it slightly, and saw that the little, green sphere had appeared in his hand. The sphere had a translucent colour, letting him see through it in a distorted way. He had no idea how it had gotten there, but he knew that he couldn't afford to waste any time. He wrestled his right arm free and yanked his elbow into the Imp on top of him. It slid back a bit and Travis got his left arm free as well. He quickly brought his arms together and let the sphere pass by the dark display on the morpher. As they did, he felt a stingy sensation in his hand, as if hundreds of small lightning had passed between the morpher and sphere. Not wasting any time, the teenager brought the two items together, slamming the sphere into the morpher.

A bright, white light emanated from the glass-like surface on the morpher and quickly enveloped him. No sooner was he covered by the light, before it began to retreat. Once gone, Travis appeared in a green and white suit. The green and white made diamond patterns on the legs. The upper part of the suit was all green, with the exception of the white gloves and a small emblem on the left chest. The emblem was a white circle with a green 'A' in the middle. In less than a second, a green helmet appeared around Travis' head, and Travis' field of vision suddenly grew darker.

The two Imps that were sitting on top of him were knocked away when Travis used his new-found strength to push himself off the ground. As soon as he was back on his feet, Travis kicked at the Imp. The small, scaly creature flew away and crashed into a headstone. The other attacked, but Travis blocked the punch. It threw another but Travis caught that one too. With a swift motion, Travis yanked its arms out from its body, stretching them. He proceeded to let go of the Imp, only to deliver another swift kick in its chest, sending it crashing into the first.

Another Imp flung itself at Travis. The Green Ranger jumped and landed about 5 metres above, on the top of a mausoleum. He turned around and got a quick overview of the battlefield. Joseph was pinned down by two Imps, as were Katherine. They were roughly ten meters apart. The Ghoul was still keeping out of battle, presumably waiting for the Imps to tire the Rangers out.

Travis let out a battle cry as he jumped back down. He landed, and ran towards Katherine. He jumped again before he reached her, and knocked away one of the Imps with a flying kick. He landed on the other side of Katherine and kicked as he turned around, sending the other tumbling back. He extended a hand and Katherine grabbed it, and got to her feet.

"You okay?" Travis asked courtly.

"I will be" Katherine said. Then added: "Duck!" Travis did and Katherine sent a punch flying right above his head, taking out a foolhardy Imp. Travis got up again. Before either of them could do anything, another Imp came at them. Katherine blocked the attack and gave the creature a punch in the stomach. It bent over a little and Katherine planted an elbow in its neck.

As the Imp fell down, Katherine had a weird feeling in her right hand. She looked and in it were her yellow sphere, the object that, once combined with the morpher, unleashed all of her powers. She looked at Travis who looked back behind the visor. The same had happened for him, but he had no answers for the questions Katherine was about to ask. As she understood, she nodded.

Katherine threw her arms down her side, then raised the left above her head. In a single movement, she brought the left arm down and the right arm up. The sphere passed the black display and Katherine felt a jolt in her hand. As the right arm was at its pinnacle she retracted it backwards and moved the left arm straight ahead, as were she punching an invisible foe. Finally, she bent her left arm and thrust her right forward, slamming the sphere right into the display.

The sphere and display melted into one and a bright light shone from it, covering her body inch by inch. As soon as it covered her entirely, the light retreated back into the display. It left Katherine in a white and yellow suit. The colours made diamond-shaped patterns on the legs, from the hips to the white boots. Her hands were covered by white gloves, her torso by a yellow suit with an emblem similar to the one Travis had, only hers was yellow on a white background. A helmet followed right away, covering her head, and a darkened visor slid in front of her face, darkening her view.

As soon as the transformation was completed, she stood beside Travis as a mirror image. The two looked at each other and nodded. Only one ranger remained down, but not for much longer. The Green and Yellow Ranger readied themselves and ran towards Josephs and his captivators. They both jumped simultaneously, knocking away the Imps holding him down. Before the Imps could retaliate, the two Rangers punched them as one and they flew backwards, into one of the mausoleums. They didn't rise again. Travis and Katherine turned to their fallen comrade and helped him to his feet.

"I've had it" Joseph panted. "I've been bullied, thrown around and knocked down, but no more. Today cannot possibly become any worse. So let's take him down!" At once, the blue gem appeared in his right hand. As the others it was translucent and vivid. Joseph threw his arms past each other, curving his right arm upwards, just so the sphere passed the black display on the morpher. Then, in a sudden movement, he flung his arm backwards, only to thrust it forward. "Ancient Powers, ready to fight!" he screamed as the sphere connected with the display.

Immediately, Joseph was covered by a bright light, which retreated again, only to leave Joseph dressed in a blue and white suit. The gloves and boots were white as snow, and the diamond-shaped pattern on his legs looked like ice floes on the ocean. On his chest was an emblem similar to the others' only blue in colour. The helmet appeared last of all, darkening his vision a little.

Now all three Rangers were morphed, and a quick view across the battlefield told them all they needed to know. Most of the Imps were unconscious, and those still awake were doing their best to flee the scene. The only enemy left was the Ghoul. It was still nearly motionless, looking at them with its blank, white eyeballs in their deepened hollows. Its blood-red nails looked as sharp as knives; its teeth sharp enough to chew through bone. Its muscles flexed visibly underneath its pale-green, wrinkled skin.

"Watch out for its strength" Joseph advised. "A single blow was enough to send me flying."

"No offense, but you're not really all that hard to push around" Travis remarked.

"I'm serious" Joseph said, ignoring Travis comment. Then smirked. "Dead serious."

"Oh, stop it" Katherine said smiling. "You're killing me."

Joseph was about to think up another witty reply, when the Ghoul suddenly sprung into action. It raced towards the Rangers, skipping past headstones and fallen Imps as were they not there. The Rangers' eyes grew wide with astonishment. The creature was racing faster than anything they had ever seen. Before they could even think of jumping away, the creature reached them. It slashed once, a mighty, broad sweep that hit all three of them, and the teenagers was flung backwards. Joseph made contact with another mausoleum, Travis landed to further away to his left and Katherine was stopped by a headstone to his right.

"What in the world?" Katherine panted as she looked towards the Ghoul. But the space it had occupied just before was already empty. She looked around frantically. Where was it? A movement caught her eye and she turned her head, only to stare directly into the Ghoul. Before she could react the Ghoul had already slashed her once with its mighty arm. Katherine shrieked as the nails penetrated her suit and scratched her arm. The Ghoul took advantage of her distraction and swung a leg at her head. It connected and Katherine was sent skidding sideways.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Travis had gotten back on their feet, only to see Katherine sent flying.

"You take care of Kathy, I'll take the monster" Travis said.

"Right!" Joseph replied and ran towards their friend.

Travis turned his attention to the Ghoul, but it was missing again. _Where is it?_ Travis looked around him, but the Ghoul was nowhere in sight. He looked at Joseph who was helping Katherine to her feet. It wasn't there either. Travis was getting increasingly frustrated. He looked around frantically, but no matter what he couldn't see it. _Calm down, Travis_ he thought. He took a deep breath, and then let it out. Something moved to his right. He turned, but nothing. Now to his left. He turned, but only a leaf moved in the still wind. _That's it!_ Travis realised. He turned to face the others.

"Guys!" he yelled. "Behind you!" Joseph and Katherine turned their heads at the same time and looked directly into the face of the Ghoul. It moved an arm and was about to bring it down on them, when a green energy pellet hit it in its forehead. The demon fell over, clutching its head. Joseph and Katherine ran over to Travis.

"How did you know?" Katherine asked as Travis put back his blaster.

"It wasn't easy" Travis said. "But I realised that the creature isn't invisible, just really fast. Since it moves so fast, it generates tail wind, which in turn makes the leaves fly and grass bend."

"I don't mean to be a bother" Joseph said, "but that thing is getting up again." The others looked and saw he was right. The creature had stopped tending to its wound and was already up and starting to move.

"Oh, great!" Travis muttered.

"Ready yourselves" Katherine said. They all did, raising their arms to protect themselves from an attack while steeling them for the impact. The Ghoul rushed at them at its blinding speed and the three Rangers didn't catch sight of it before it was standing right in front of them. The Ghoul made a single sweep with its arms, and the Rangers were flung backwards, landing in a clear patch of dirt. _Great. Now I risk an infection too_ Katherine thought.

"There's got to be something we can do!" Travis spat out, as he fought to get up.

"I can't think of anything" Katherine said. "We could try our weapons, but I doubt they'll be effective."

"They won't" Joseph said. "But there's one option we haven't tried yet."

"What?" Travis asked curiously.

"The Boosters" Joseph replied cryptically.

"The Boosters!?"Katherine cried.

"The Boosters?" Travis asked, genuinely confused.

"No way!" Katherine said. "No way, Joseph. You know what Haslan has said!"

"Yeah, I do, but I also realise that we have no other option."

"Would someone care to fill me in?" Travis interjected before Katherine could reply.

"Sure" Joseph said, and began to explain gravely. "The Boosters are modifications made to the morphers for our sake. They do, as the name implies, give a small energy boost. This boost increases our strength, speed, dexterity, everything."

"If it's that good, then why don't we use it more often?"

"Because of the drawbacks" Katherine said. "The boost it gives is taxing on the body. The Boosters are designed to give up to two minutes of boosted effect, but even such short time still brings a tremendous stress on the body. In the worst case scenario, using the boosters could kill you." Travis sunk. He hadn't expected that kind of answer.

"But still" Joseph said. "It should be safe as long as we stay within the two minute limit. Besides, what have we got to lose?" The Rangers grew silent and looked around them. "Oh, right. Graveyard. Forgot that."

The Ghoul, which apparently had grown tired of waiting, charged at them. But this time the Rangers were able to avoid the attack.

"Well, are we going to do it?" Travis asked.

Katherine sighed. "It looks like we really have no choice."

"Alright" Joseph said. "Boosters, activate!" All at once, the three Rangers pressed a small button on their morphers. The black display flashed for less than a second, and suddenly, the Rangers felt a strange power flow through them. The power was strong, vivid, intoxicating. On the morpher, a digital clock started counting.

"Wow, this is fantastic" Travis said as the powerful feeling spread through his system.

"Don't get carried away" Joseph said. "We have to defeat that Ghoul."

"Let's go!" Katherine shouted.

The three Rangers set off and sprinted towards the Ghoul. For just a second, the Ghoul was surprised about their increased speed, but a second was all that the team needed. They jumped and each readied a punch. They punched at the same time and three fists hit the Ghoul right in the chest. Time seemed to slow down around the Rangers, as the Ghoul was slowly lifted from the ground by the force of their attack. Travis quickly dropped down, supported himself on his hands, only to thrust his legs and feet into the creature's stomach. The Ghoul bent over in midair, still flying backwards.

Katherine ran after it and stopped it by grapping hold of its arm. She spun around, swinging the Ghoul round and round. Suddenly she stopped and let go and the Ghoul was flung into a mausoleum. The impact left a dent, but the creature hadn't landed on the ground when Katherine summoned her lance. She gave a thrust and placed the lance between the Ghoul and the ground. With a mighty swing, Katherine catapulted the creature away horizontally.

Joseph sat after it and overtook it. He stopped a little past it and caught the Ghoul as it flew towards him. He lowered himself, then flung the Ghoul into the air. Joseph jumped and turned around in midair, flying upwards with his legs first. He kicked at the Ghoul, which shrieked whenever his feet were planted in its back. Another kick, another scream. He gave a final kick and the Ghoul finally stopped flying upwards. As it begun its descend, Joseph dodged it and just before they hit the ground he slammed his heel into its abdominal. The Ghoul gasped as the air in its lungs was pressed out of it and crashed to the ground.

Joseph jumped backwards and the Ghoul got up. It swung its arm at Joseph who leaned backwards to avoid the blow. The Ghoul followed up with a kick, but Joseph beat it to it, by back flipping, hitting the demons jaw in the flip. The Ghoul howled as it relocated its jaw, and rushed at the other two. It swung a clawed hand at them, but both Travis and Katherine ducked the blow. Before the Ghoul could follow up, the two Rangers had already punched it in the stomach, sending it flying yet again.

Travis summoned his axe and went after it. It had almost been a minute already since they activated the boosters, and he could feel that, even now, his muscles were getting strained. Travis pushed the pain away and sprinted faster. He caught up and with a series of flying kicks, sent it into a wall. It crashed into the wall where it made another dent and fell down. Travis jumped and brought his axe down. The Ghoul looked up and if its so called eyes could display terror, they would do so now.

The axe fell from Travis's hands. Not because of the plea for mercy in the creatures eyes, as it was doubtful that it knew the meaning of the word mercy, but because he himself was shaking. His body had broken down from the strain and all of his muscles were in cramps. He tried to move an arm, but nothing happened. He had fallen in mid jump, the axe had fallen from his hands and he was completely immobilised for the moment. Not that he would have much more than that, as the Ghoul was already getting up again, staring hungrily at its next meal.

Travis looked around him. About fifteen metres away, Joseph and Katherine were suffering from the same afflictions. They too were shaking all over, Katherine's lance lying just out of her reach. Travis turned his head and looked at the morpher. They should still have another 30 seconds, but his body was aching all over. He willed himself to move his right arm and deactivate the Boosters, noticing that the other two Rangers had done the same. Travis gasped as the surge of power he had felt earlier vanished and was replaced by simple pain. All of his muscles were aching, though already the cramps had subsided a bit. Another minute and he should be able to walk again. _Not that I have a minute_, he thought grimly. The Ghoul jumped at him and he closed his eyes.

A sharp sound cut through the area, a sound reminiscent that of a projectile. Travis opened his eyes and saw the creature lie next to him, tossing in pain. He looked over at Katherine and Joseph, and was about to thank them, when he saw that they were also unable to move so much. He turned his head the other way, and looked right into two pairs of white boots. He looked a little higher and smiled behind the visor as he saw the owners.

"Sorry we couldn't come any sooner" Ben said, offering a hand which Travis tried to accept. He couldn't move his arm that much though, and let it fell.

"It's okay" Travis said through his teeth. Talking hurt more than he thought it would.

"What is that thing?" Sarah asked, pointing her blaster at the Ghoul.

"Dangerous" Travis croaked.

"So I see" Ben remarked, as the creature slowly got up. Its mouth was covered in froth; its eyeballs showed pure malice. "We'll take care of the rest" Benjamin assured his friend. Travis smiled and let his head fall again.

Ben and Sarah directed their full attention to the Ghoul. It lunged at them and the two Rangers barely dodged the attack. It came around for another swing at Sarah, who barely had time to block it. The Pink Ranger tried kicking it, but the Ghoul blocked and aimed for her arm with its mouth. Sarah pushed it away in the last possible moment and quickly pointed her blaster at the creature, and fired. Three energy pellets left the blaster and the Ghoul was turned over.

"Red Knight Sword!" the Red Ranger called out and a lightning struck his hand. Immediately, a crimson longsword appeared in his hand. The blade was lucid with a crimson hue, though its true colours were dampened in the unnatural blackness around them. Ben swung the sword in front of him, testing it. It seemed heavier than usual. Ignoring that for now, he once again turned his attention to the Ghoul.

The Ghoul lunged at him but Ben back flipped and avoided the blow. It swung another arm but this time Ben blocked the attack. The Red Ranger kicked at the Ghoul which jumped away. Ben smirked; the demon was right where he wanted it. The Red Ranger took a step forth and slashed with the sword. The Demon was easily able to deflect the blow. Ben followed it up, this time slashing a lot harder. The Ghoul tried to deflect it, but Ben's sword cut into its arm, causing the demon to cry again. Ben kicked it away, then charged at it.

"Red Knight Slash!" he cried out and swung the sword with all his might. The blade cut through the Ghoul, leaving visible traces in the air for just a second, before the Ghoul exploded. A small, initial explosion, followed by a larger. With the Ghoul soundly defeated, Benjamin and Sarah turned to their comrades.

"I told you we would take care of it" Ben said with a smile behind the visor as he helped Travis up again.

"And you did" Travis replied. He still hurt a little, but at least he could walk again. "Remind me never to doubt you in the future."

"I will" Ben said smiling and helped him over to the others.

"So, how did you two know how to get here?" Katherine asked.

"Haslan and the others monitored your progress" Sarah started. "But at some point you dropped of their radar and they couldn't find you. So they called us to retrace your steps."

"Wait, back up a bit" Joseph interrupted. "Atlantis has radars?"

"Apparently" Ben said and shrugged. "They have alarms too, remember?" Joseph was momentarily confused, then recalled their first meeting in Atlantis.

"Anyway" Sarah continued. "We were told to go here as quickly as possible, and once at the cemetery, we simply begun to look around."

"Okay, I can keep up this far" Travis said. "But could someone please explain to me how we got here?" The five Rangers looked around. It was night; the sun had set a long time ago. The stars were out, forming well-known constellations. The trees around them were green and vigorous.

"Correction" Joseph said, dumbfounded. "Where we were?"

"I think Haslan owes us an explanation" Ben said and reached for his morpher.

"And you shall have it" Haslan's voice sounded through the device.

"Okay" Ben said. None of the Ranger's had realised they were now demorphed. "Where were we just now?"

"You were in another world, known as the Shadowfell" Haslan replied. "It is much like your world, only a darker and warped reality of it. Think of it as a dark future for your world if you cannot safe it."

_Thanks for clearing that up_ Travis thought. "So we were in another dimension?"

"No, it can't be called that" Haslan said. "An alternate dimension would be completely free from anything that happens in your world. The Shadowfell, however, is a mirrored representation, that reflects the worst possible outcome from the current situation. Let's say an earthquake occurs. It might not happen in an alternate dimension, but it would happen in the Shadowfell. Do you understand?"

"Not really" Sarah said. "But what about the demon-thingie?"

"Ghoul" Joseph corrected her.

"The Shadowfell is home to many variations of demons" Haslan said. "Amongst them, Wyrmina and her crew."

"We were in Wyrmina's world?!" Katherine said shocked.

"Yes, though I believe it to be an accident. Had she known you were there you would not have survived. I will gladly tell you more later, but it is getting late and as I understand you have other duties."

"I wouldn't call school for a duty" Joseph mumbled low enough for the other Rangers to hear.

"One last question" Travis said. "Back when we were fighting. We got into a bit of trouble and I couldn't reach either the power-sphere or the morpher. But somehow the sphere appeared in my hand. It happened for the others too."

"Interesting" Haslan said slowly. "It would seem that you have become more attuned to your powers than we could predict. As you grow in strength and learn to use all of your abilities, you will slowly be able to unlock the more... complicated powers of the morphers. Summoning the power-sphere is just the first step on a long way that could take decades, if not centuries to master. But if you can already summon the sphere by will, then you are indeed the best team we have ever had."

The Rangers smiled at his praise. Though Haslan usually praised them for a job well done, he had never praised them like this.

"Goodnight Haslan" Ben said and turned off his morpher.

"So now what?" Joseph asked as they slowly walked out of the cemetery.

"Now we go home, get some sleep, go to school and tomorrow we'll all meet up to get that dinner we had talked about" Ben said. "How does that sound?" The others laughed and agreed. As they split up Katherine's final thought was how wonderful it would be to get the team together again.

-----

-----

It was dark in Wyrmina's throne room. The purple, velvet carpet were only briefly lit by the flashing lightning which came from outside. Wyrmina herself was sitting on her father's throne, the very same she had occupied for nearly two months. The walls in the room were mainly bare, only sparsely decorated with paintings and tapestries. The ceiling was mostly intact, but the weather had managed to make a few cracks over the millennia.

"So, the Ghoul was, ultimately, a failure" she mused aloud. In the nearly empty room her voice boomed back on her, rising from a whisper to something near a roar. "Even though we had it gather strength for two weeks, the Rangers still found a way to destroy it." Wyrmina hissed at the thought. She couldn't stand to lose a battle; in fact, she hated it. "But it have not been for nothing" she continued. "While the foolish Rangers and those stupid Atlantians focus on a single attack every now and then, I have far grander schemes in play." Wyrmina got up and paced back and forth. "But then again, they might see the threat right away."

"Do you not think that I can pull it off, milady?" a voice sounded from the shadows behind the chair. Wyrmina stopped and looked at the person. The shadows clad the women well and hid her completely. Had Wyrmina not handpicked her earlier on the day, she would not have known the person was a female, nor how she looked. She recalled her appearance. The woman had long red hair, which extended all the way to her hips. She was dressed in a torn, red dress, though her entire upper body were covered. A belt kept the dress close to her hips. The belt had a golden scarab as a lock.

"Of course I do" Wyrmina hissed. "In fact, I'm counting on you." The woman in the shadows smiled, not that Wyrmina could see it. Then, much sterner, Wyrmina added. "Don't let me down."

"I will not" the woman said and disappeared in a bright, purple flash. With the woman gone, Wyrmina sat down again. In only a week the third Gargoyle would be filled and her father's resurrection one step closer.

* * *

And that concludes the 7th episode. On a semi-related note: How many of you have seen Thunderbirds? If that's not a Power Rangers rip-off, I don't know what is. My brother and I saw it the other day, and there weren't five minutes between the Ranger references. Oh, and by the way, you guys should really look forward to the next episode. That one's going to be a blast! Well, see you guys then. Hopefully, it will be within the next 30 days.


	8. Chapter 8: Time and Again

Oh, ye gods! I never thought I'd get this chapter done. Sorry about the long wait everyone, but I've been caught up in school work. See, we're about half-way through our project phase, a project that'll determine whether we get to advance to the next semester. So story writing has been cut down a little, in order to focus more on the project. Things are going great so far. Without delving too deep into it, we've been tasked with designing a system for a small real estate firm, in order for them to keep an electronic record of their customers and rentals. Things are progressing nicely and, if things are going to be as bright as they seem right now, all three of us should pass with flying colours. Of maybe just around a B... We don't use colours to determine the grade, we use numbers. From highest to lowest: 12, 10, 7, 4, 2, 0, -2. And yes, that's a negative 2. I don't know who the heck thought it up, but they should be kicked. Hard.

But even if teh project is going well, I'll not be writing at all this weekend as I'm on a scout camp. And the weekends after (the 5th-7th) and (12th-14th) will probably be low-write time as well. We'll probably spend one of them (or at least one day) rehearsing each other, and I'll likely be with my girlfriend in the other, which will only leave time to write in the train. Speaking of trains, don't ride them in the middle of the day. They are like frigging saunas.

Without further ado, enjoy the latest instalment.

* * *

Previously, on Power Rangers: Atlantis Knights!

"Eons ago, an evil entity known as Wyrmina attacked Earth. A few, brave Atlantians stood against her and sealed her in a sarcophagus at the expanse of their own lives. The Atlantians sank their city to the bottom of the sea to avoid interference with the outside world. But now, 4000 years later, three teenagers, Benjamin, Katherine and Joseph, have unaware awakened her.

"Joining forces with their friends, Travis and Sarah, the Ranger team has beaten back Wyrmina and her demons whenever they attacked. Bu Wyrmina's evil plans have slowly begun to bear fruit, as two of the Gargoyles standing on one of the towers of her castle, has been filled with energy. The Rangers have been able to beat them back so far, relaying on all their cunning to defeat the ancient foes. Only Golzor remains undefeated, and only he has bested the Rangers more than once.

"But even with all their skills and strengths, the Rangers may not be strong enough for the tasks that still lie ahead..."

*****

**Episode 8: Time and Again**

"Uah!" the Green Ranger cried as he flew through the air and landed on the grassy plain. Next to him, the Blue and Pink Ranger had collided with a tree, and were both only now recovering. The Red and Yellow Ranger were still on their feet when the demon lashed a tentacle-like arm at them. The two Rangers were flung backwards and rolled across the plain.

"Had enough, humans?" the demon hissed, drawing out the s sound like a snake. Not that it was so peculiar, the entire demon resembled a snake with legs and arms. Its body was muscular and its strong legs gave it a great speed. The arms were normal length, but could be extended to about three meters or so. What really made it resemble a snake were those arms. Once extended, they had numerous joints and could move just like a snake; the hands grapping their victims and strangling them as a snake would bite its prey.

"Not a chance!" Ben shouted defiantly and all five Rangers got up. "I say we end this now. You guys with me?"

"All the way" Travis replied.

"You know we are" sounded Sarah.

"With you, behind you, and in front of you" Joseph joked.

"Of course" Katherine said.

"All right, then let's do this" Ben commanded and all five Rangers converged.

"Blue Knight Blades!" Joseph cried out. The two elbow blades appeared in his hands. The handle was pleasantly warm in his hands; the blue, lucid blade cold as ice. Joseph proceeded to slam the two halves together, forming a bow-like shape. Joseph threw the weapon in front of Ben and the weapon stopped; hovering in midair.

"Yellow Knight Lance!" Katherine yelled and a two meter long, yellow lance appeared in her hands. Streaks of gold twisted up and down the lance in a spiral pattern. Katherine broke the lance in three and threw each part at Joseph's weapon. The pieces attached themselves at either side and in the middle, on the underside of the weapon.

"Pink Knight Sai!" Sarah called out and the two sai appeared in her hand. The pink handle was a sharp contrast to the nearly blank metal, which barely had a pink hue. The middle blade was longer than the others, being twice their size. Sarah tossed them, and her sai placed themselves between the lance pieces.

"Green Knight Axe!" Travis cried and his axe appeared. The handle was long and strong; the translucent, green blades on the head of the axe stronger. The two blades started to move and placed themselves horizontally on the handle, rather than vertically. Travis threw his axe and it attached itself to the underside of the lance and sai, thus encasing them between the axe and the blades.

"Red Knight Sword" Ben called and his sword appeared in his hand. The hilt was bright red; the blade a more translucent hue. Ben placed the sword on top of the blades and the weapon was complete. Ben grabbed hold of the weapon, Katherine and Joseph fell down to support the weapon, while Sarah and Travis grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster!" they all called out as one. "FIRE!" the Mega-Blaster fired and an energy ball, no wider than a foot, flew towards the demon. The demon tried to move, but the gravimetric field created by the energy ball had locked it in place. The demon stared in terror at the energy ball that came closer and closer, until it made contact and exploded. As the explosions subsided the Rangers could see that the creature was completely destroyed.

"Woohoo!" Joseph cried out.

"Well that was easy" Sarah said.

"What, you want them harder?" Travis remarked with a smile beneath the helmet.

Sarah thought for a second. "No, I wish they were all this easy."

"Yeah, well, they aren't" Ben said gravely.

"A girl can dream, right?" Ben ignored her comment.

"Well, I'll be heading off" Travis said and demorphed. "Miss Miller gave us a bunch of reading to do for Monday."

"See you." Travis waved goodbye and left the group.

*****

*****

*****

A loud buzzing sound tore through the room. Confused, Travis sat up with a jerk. It took a moment before he recognized the sound and turned off his alarm clock. The teen yawned and stretched. He had had a confusing dream and wasn't quite sure he was awake yet. Grabbing a pair of boxers, pants and a T-shirt, Travis headed to the bathroom.

He emerged some 20 minutes later, wide awake and dressed in loose training pants and a green T-shirt. He got downstairs and went into the kitchen.

"Good morning" his mother said. She was standing over the stove, already hard at work.

"Morning" Travis replied and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the table and sat down. The kitchen was small but comfortable. The walls were decorated with white tiles, the floor with linoleum. All around were cupboards and in the far end, a refrigerator. A table was neatly set in the middle of the small room. Though it was only him, her mother and father who lived there, Travis' mother always kept it neat and tidy.

"Where's dad?" Travis asked and took a bite.

"He had to leave early this morning" his mother replied and came over with a plate and cereal. Even though his mother loved baking bread, and knew nothing better than to bake for Travis and his friends, he still insisted on a solid portion of cereal each day.

"Why?" Travis inquired as he started pouring up the cereal; the apple left for later.

"Well" her mother responded and paused dramatically. "There have been going rumours the past few days at his work that one of them was due a promotion."

"Really?!" Travis exclaimed excited. "Wh...Why didn't you tell me sooner?" His face was practically beaming.

"We wanted to keep it a secret. Now eat your cereal, and remember; he's not promoted yet." Travis laughed and returned to his cereal. He ate it quickly, grabbed the apple, said his goodbyes, and was on his way. Once outside he grabbed his green bike and raced towards the city. There was still time to make it before school started.

It wasn't a long drive, ten minutes at most. Travis parked and locked the bike and headed inside. He found his locker and stored a few personal items as well as retrieved some. He closed the locker and turned around to go to class, but found Frantz blocking his way. The fat bully stared intensely at Travis, as if trying to kill him by staring him to death.

"Look who we have here" Frantz said to his henchmen rhetorically. "It's the loser's friend." This provoked a series of laughter and hisses from the crowd.

"You might call Joseph a loser" Travis said with a smile, "but at least he has friends."

Frantz face turned red and his lips curved down. He held a clutched hand up in front of Travis' face. "Did you say something?"

"Look" Travis said. "I'm having a great day, and I'd rather not you ruin it. Now please; will you go away, or shall we settle this once and for all?" With this, Travis grabbed Frantz's fist and started to squeeze. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but Frantz soon started to sweat, trying to outlast the pain. He soon retracted his hand however.

"That twerp has yet to bring me that assignment I asked him to do" the bully said. "Make sure that he brings it to me. And thanks to you, in person." Frantz started to walk away, leaving Travis to himself. A small crowd had assembled to see what was going on, but quickly dispersed as the tension evaporated.

Travis sighed. "It can still be a good day..."

*****

*****

*****

"And we'll continue on this subject after the break" the teacher said. "See you all in 30!" The teacher had trouble competing with the bell and the thundering sound of students thumping out of the door. Travis was amongst them. He made it to the cafeteria as one of the first and procured a small table for the group. One by one the other five Rangers found their way over to the table, buying their food on the way.

"So" Joseph asked as he took a bite of his sandwich. "What's with you?"

"What do you mean?" Travis replied, wondering if his joy over his father's possible promotion was so visible.

"I'm talking about Frantz" Joseph said and took another bite. "Rumour has it that the two of you had a fight."

"I wouldn't call it a fight..." Travis started.

"Boy, this turkey sandwich is good!" Joseph burst out as he tore another bite from it. He started chewing, then stopped and looked around. The other four were staring at him. For a moment, the air was filled with embarrassment, and a familiar feeling. Then they all burst out laughing.

"As I was saying" Travis said between laughs. "It wasn't really a fight. He threatened me and I grabbed his arm to stop him. That's all there is to it!"

"That's not what I've heard" Ben said. "I heard that you took him out, right there on the hallway."

"Only him?" Sarah asked with a smile. "The story I heard had Travis versus Frantz and all of his idiotic goons." She looked over at Travis. "Emphasis on story."

"Ha ha" Travis remarked, faking his laughter.

"Are we still on for tomorrow?" Ben asked in a lowered voice, changing the subject.

"And tomorrow we will do... what?" Joseph inquired with a mouth stuffed with sandwich.

"Did you forget?" Katherine asked. "We're going to Atlantis to train."

"Well" Ben asked. "Are you all coming?"

"Sure" Sarah said. Joseph nodded. He was still trying to chew the last of his turkey.

"And you?" Ben asked, looking at Travis.

"Would I miss out on training on purpose?"

"Good point" Ben reconciled.

"Is anyone doing anything after school?" Sarah asked, resuming their normal chat. They shook their heads in turn. "Then how about a walk in the park?"

"The park?" Joseph asked and gulped down the last of his sandwich. "What would you do in the park?"

"Enjoy the last warmth" Sarah replied. "We're in October now, so it can't be long before the cold weather sets in."

"Why not?" Ben asked. "I'm sure we'll find something to do." The five teenagers continued to talk for the rest of their break. Suddenly, the bell rang and all around them students left their chairs and tables. "We'd better get going to" Ben said and they all got up. "We'll meet across the road after school."

*****

*****

*****

"And to finish off, I want you to read chapter 13 by Monday" the female teacher said, trying to be heard above the ringing of the bell. Not an easy task, especially on a Friday. Her voice was drowned out by the students, all of which were busy packing their bags and leaving. Amongst them was Travis, hurrying all he could. The others should be waiting in the park by now.

Travis hurried as much as he could through the still crowded hallways, eager to make his way to the exit. He did and, once out the double doors, instantly felt the weakening sun on his skin. Even though it was the beginning of October, it had only just started to get colder. Travis ignored his bike and crossed the road. As soon as he reached the other side of the road, he looked around.

The autumn was slowly claiming the land as its own. The leaves were, ever so slowly, beginning to fall from the trees. Most of the flowers were beginning to faint. A wind blew; the leaves rustled. Travis turned his head and saw his friends walking down one of the many paths. Travis ran over to them.

"Hey guys" he called from behind. The others stopped and turned around.

"Glad you could make it" Ben said with a smile.

"So" Travis asked, trying to catch his breath. "What are we going to do?"

As if to answer his question, a humanoid creature appeared before them. Its muscular body flexed, and every muscle on the creature's body stood out. Its legs were bend, as if it was setting off to a running start. Its arms hung loose down its sides. The creature hissed and revealed a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.

"I guess that answers your question" Joseph remarked.

Before anyone could say anything, the creature launched towards them. It ran fast and the five teenagers barely dodged the assault. The demon skidded to a stop and sprang at Ben. Ben tried to block it, but the demon grabbed hold of Benjamin's throat. Immediately, small spikes came out of its hand, stinging at Ben's throat.

"BEN!" Katherine shrieked. Ben tried to wrestle himself free, but he only made his situation worse. The small spikes penetrated his skin and small drops of blood started to come out. Ben stopped moving at once. If he moved his head or upper-body, his throat would be penetrated by the spikes. If he did nothing, he would eventually bleed to death. The teenager tried to kick at the demon but the attack was blocked. Benjamin felt his pulse go up and became aware of a spike, dangerously close to his artery. He tensed. One wrong move and it would be the end of him. Ben closed his eyes and tried to think of a plan.

Suddenly the pressure on his throat eased, only to disappear completely. Ben opened his eyes and saw the creature lying on the ground a little away. Next to him stood a panting Travis. Ben nodded a silent thank you, which Travis replied in the same manner.

"That hurt" the demon hissed as it got up. The five teenagers instantly turned to face the panting demon. "That really hurt!"

"It talks?!" Sarah asked amazed.

The demon launched at them struck Sarah in the chest before she could defend herself. She tumbled backwards and fell over. The demon struck swiftly at Joseph who managed to catch the punch. But before Joseph could react, the demon had made a low sweep, causing Joseph to land on his back. Katherine threw a punch at it, but the demon ducked and struck her in her stomach. Receiving a kick in her chest, she too fell over. Ben and Travis rushed at it and tried to strike it, but the demon jumped, landing nimbly behind them. It turned and threw a punch in their backs, forcing them to the ground.

"Damn that thing is strong!" Travis grumbled.

"And pissed!" Joseph replied.

"Now I'll finally have my revenge" the creature hissed.

"Revenge?" Ben asked as he fought to get up. "We don't even know you!"

"Tsk!" grunted the demon. Now all five Rangers were standing again. "You say that each time."

"Each time?" Sarah asked. "I'm confused."

"We all are" Katherine added.

"Well, I don't know if we know him or not" Ben cut through. "But I do know that he's dangerous and should be dealt with. You guys with me?"

"Right on!" the others replied.

All as one, the Rangers threw their left arm up in front of them, revealing the morpher. The right arm was thrust downwards, and a small sphere appeared in their hands. It had the colour of its Ranger, only more lucid and transparent. Still synchronised, the five teenagers raised their left arm, pointing straight up; the right hanging down rigid. In a single motion, the five teenagers lowered their left arm while raising the right, allowing the morpher and sphere to pass within an inch of each other. A shock, which felt like hundreds of lightning passing between the morpher and sphere, could be felt in their right hand, only to disappear as the two items were removed from each other. Their right arm continued up until it reached its zenith, after which they drew it backwards. Their left arm was placed before them, their morpher once again revealed.

"Ancient powers, ready to fight!" the five teenagers yelled and slammed the sphere into the black surface of the morpher. As soon as the sphere touched the surface, it gave another shock and the two items merged. As they did, a bright, white light emanated from the morpher and swallowed their bodies. As soon as it had completely engulfed them, the light subsided and revealed the teenagers in their Ranger suits. The suits were similar in design: A white and Ranger-coloured design on the legs; white boots and gloves; the torso was the colour of the Ranger, with the exception of a white circle on their left chest, containing a coloured 'A'. The helmet appeared as soon as the light disappeared completely. First it was nothing but lines around their heads, then the helmet materialised and a dark visor slid in front of their face, darkening their view.

"Power Rangers, Atlantis Knights!" the five teenagers shouted as the morphing was complete. The demon looked at them and hissed.

"Your new outfits won't help you" the demon said and launched at them. It ran towards them and jumped, landing behind Katherine before any of them could do anything. It grabbed Katherine at her neck and squeezed, forcing the spikes into her neck and throat. Travis threw a punch at the demon, but it moved swiftly, and shielded itself, using Katherine as the shield. She gasped as Travis' punch knocked the air out off her. The demon discarded her with a fling of its arm, knocking her into Ben. The two Rangers tumbled over.

Sarah rushed at the demon, Joseph at her side. The Pink Ranger jumped and planted a foot in the creature's chest. But the demon grabbed hold of the foot and flew nowhere. Still holding tight, the demon swung Sarah around as a flail, flinging her right into Joseph. The two Rangers flew backwards into a three. Travis ran towards it and kicked, but the demon dodged the attack and sent him backwards over to Joseph and Sarah.

"Had enough, humans?" the demon hissed, drawing out the s like a snake.

"No way!" Ben shouted defiantly, getting back on his feet. "We're going to end this, right now. You guys ready?"

"Absolutely!" the replied and the Green, Blue and Pink Ranger rushed to the Red and Yellow's side.

"Blue Knight Blades!" Joseph cried out. The two elbow blades appeared in his hands. The handle was pleasantly warm in his hands; the blue, lucid blade cold as ice. Joseph proceeded to slam the two halves together, forming a bow-like shape. Joseph threw the weapon in front of Ben and the weapon stopped; hovering in midair.

"Yellow Knight Lance!" Katherine yelled and a two meter long, yellow lance appeared in her hands. Streaks of gold twisted up and down the lance in a spiral pattern. Katherine broke the lance in three and threw each part at Joseph's weapon. The pieces attached themselves at either side and in the middle, on the underside of the weapon.

"Pink Knight Sai!" Sarah called out and the two sai appeared in her hand. The pink handle was a sharp contrast to the nearly blank metal, which barely had a pink hue. The middle blade was longer than the others, being twice their size. Sarah tossed them, and her sai placed themselves between the lance pieces.

"Green Knight Axe!" Travis cried and his axe appeared. The handle was long and strong; the translucent, green blades on the head of the axe stronger. The two blades started to move and placed themselves horizontally on the handle, rather than vertically. Travis threw his axe and it attached itself to the underside of the lance and sai, thus encasing them between the axe and the blades.

"Red Knight Sword" Ben called and his sword appeared in his hand. The hilt was bright red; the blade a more translucent hue. Ben placed the sword on top of the blades and the weapon was complete. Ben grabbed hold of the weapon, Katherine and Joseph fell down to support the weapon, while Sarah and Travis grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster!" they all called out as one. "FIRE!" the Mega-Blaster fired and an energy ball, no wider than a foot, flew towards the demon. The demon tried to move, but the gravimetric field created by the energy ball had locked it in place. The demon stared in terror at the energy ball that came closer and closer, until it made contact and exploded. As the explosions subsided the Rangers could see that the creature was completely destroyed.

"Yes!" Joseph cried.

"Well that was..." Sarah started. She paused and the others looked at her.

"What?" Ben asked.

"Nothing. It's just..." she started. "I just had a feeling of déjà vu."

"I'm sure it's nothing" Joseph said. "After all, we beat up demons every week."

"Yeah... I'm sure you're right."

"Well, I've got to go" Travis said as he demorphed. "Miss Miller gave us a lot of homework to do over the weekend." Travis waved goodbye and left the group.

*****

*****

*****

A loud buzzing sound tore through the room. Confused, Travis sat up with a jerk. It took a moment before he recognized the sound and turned off his alarm clock. The teen yawned and stretched. He had had a confusing dream and wasn't quite sure he was awake yet. Grabbing a pair of boxers, pants and a T-shirt, Travis headed to the bathroom.

He emerged some 20 minutes later, wide awake and dressed in loose training pants and a green T-shirt. He got downstairs and went into the kitchen.

"Good morning" his mother said. She was standing over the stove, already hard at work.

"Morning" Travis replied and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the table and sat down. The kitchen was small but comfortable. The walls were decorated with white tiles, the floor with linoleum. All around were cupboards and in the far end, a refrigerator. A table was neatly set in the middle of the small room. Though it was only him, her mother and father who lived there, Travis' mother always kept it neat and tidy.

"Where's dad?" Travis asked and took a bite.

"He had to leave early this morning" his mother said and came over with a plate and cereal. Even though his mother loved baking bread, and knew nothing better than to bake for Travis and his friends, he still insisted on a solid portion of cereal each day.

"Why?" Travis asked as he started pouring up the cereal; the apple left for later.

"Well" her mother said and paused dramatically. "There have been going rumours the past few days at his work that one of them was..."

"Due a promotion" Travis said indifferently, finishing her sentence as he would any others.

"Yeah" his mother said surprised. "How did you know?"

"I don't know" Travis said, now surprised himself. "I guess you guys must have told me." He already knew that wasn't true. But if his parents hadn't mentioned it, then how did he know?

"We tried to keep it a secret. Now eat your cereal, and remember; he's not promoted yet." Travis laughed and returned to his cereal. He ate it quickly, grabbed the apple, said his goodbyes, and was on his way. Once outside he grabbed his green bike and raced towards the city. There was still time to make it before school started.

It wasn't a long drive, ten minutes at most. As soon as the school was in sight, Travis blocked out the weird morning and focused on the rest of the day. He parked and locked the bike and headed inside. He found his locker and stored a few personal items as well as retrieved some. He closed the locker and turned around to go to class, but found Frantz blocking his way. The fat bully stared intensely at Travis, as if trying to kill him by staring him to death.

"Look who we have here" Frantz said to his henchmen rhetorically. "It's the loser's friend." This provoked a series of laughter and hisses from the crowd.

"Loser?" Travis asked, acting confused. "I don't know any losers. Other than you, that is."

Frantz face turned red and his lips curved down. He grabbed hold of Travis' shirt and drew him close. "Did you say something?" he snarled.

"Yew" Travis said. "Your breath stinks. May I suggest a mint pastille?" The crowd snickered again, but a petrifying glare from Frantz quickly ended that.

"That twerp has yet to bring me that assignment I asked him to do" the bully said, returning his attention to Travis. "Make sure that he brings it to me. And thanks to you, in person." Frantz let him go and started to walk away, leaving Travis to himself. A small crowd had assembled to see what was going on, but quickly dispersed as the tension evaporated.

Travis sighed. "It can still be a good day..." He started walking but before he had taken the first step, he was once again struck by a feeling of déjà vu. He turned and looked, but Frantz had already disappeared. _I'm sure I've had that confrontation before_ he thought. Travis shook his head, trying to shake it off and continued to class.

*****

*****

*****

Travis was sitting alone in the cafeteria, holding a table with four additional seats for the others. He was slowly chewing his way through his lunch.

"So what's with you?" Joseph asked as he and the remaining Rangers joined Travis at his table.

"What do you mean?" Travis inquired, wondering if his joy over his father's possible promotion was so visible.

"I'm talking about Frantz" Joseph replied and took another bite. "Rumour has it that the two of you had a fight."

"I wouldn't call it a fight..." Travis started.

"Boy, this turkey sandwich is good!" Joseph burst out as he tore another bite from it. He started chewing, then stopped and looked around. The other four were staring at him. For a moment, the air was filled with embarrassment, and a familiar feeling.

"What is it guys?" Joseph asked.

"I knew he was going to say that" Katherine said slowly.

"Me too" Sarah said.

"Me three" Travis added.

"This can't be a co-incidence" Ben said.

"Now that you mention it, I've been having this weird feeling of déjà vu all day" Travis said. "First at home, when my mother told me that dad might be promoted. They hadn't told me yet, but somehow I knew. And earlier, here at school, I had a run-in with Frantz; an encounter I'm sure we've been through multiple times."

"I've had similar experiences all day" Katherine added.

"Okay, something is definitely going on here" Ben said. "Perhaps we should call Haslan after the last period, just to make sure?"

"Sounds good" the others replied in unison.

*****

*****

*****

"And to finish off, I want you to read chapter 13 by Monday" the female teacher said, trying to be heard above the ringing of the bell. Not an easy task, especially on a Friday. Her voice was drowned out by the students, all of which were busy packing their bags and leaving. Amongst them was Travis, hurrying all he could.

He found the others at the entrance to the school and without a word, the five teenagers walked away from the crowd, and behind a corner. Making sure they were alone, Ben turned on his morpher, which served as a communicator.

"Atlantis, this is Ben" he said. "Please respond."

The reply came immediately. "What is it, Rangers?" Haslan's voice sounded through the morpher.

"We'd like you to check something for us" Ben replied. "You see, we've been having these weird feelings of déjà vu all day, and it's not just random events. It's like the whole day is being repeated over and over."

Haslan said nothing for a few moments, but they could hear mumbling on the other end. Then: "Are you sure?"

"Positive" Ben replied.

"Then the situation is most severe" Janza's voice sounded. "What you are dealing with is a demon that can control time."

"Say what?!" Joseph cried out.

"You heard me" Janza replied. "This demon is capable of rewinding the clock 24 hours."

"Is that what is forcing us to re-live the same day over and over?" Travis asked.

"Yes" Janza replied. "Though it's curious. Those kinds of demons never work alone. There must be some plot to it."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough" Ben said. "Ben out."

"Well that was insightful" Joseph said as Ben covered his morpher.

"I wonder..." Sarah started.

"What?" Ben asked.

"How many times do you think we've been through this?" she asked. "Is this the second time? The fiftieth? And how close have we been before?"

"All good questions" Ben said. "But let's save them for later and hope we don't have to go through another loop."

Ben and the others turned around the corner again, went to the entrance of the school and were about to part ways, when they heard a scream. They all looked around, trying to find the source, though at first they were unsuccessful. It was Katherine who first saw someone flee from the park on the other side of the road and the five teenagers raced in that direction.

They had barely set foot in the park before they found the demon. People were screaming and the five teenagers ran towards the sound. They stopped as they found the source and quickly hid behind a bush. On the other side, in the middle of a small patch of trees, stood a humanoid demon. Its muscular body flexed, and every muscle on the creature's body stood out. Its arms hung loose down its sides. The creature hissed and revealed a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.

"What is that?" Katherine asked disgusted.

"Right now, I don't care" Ben said courtly and assessed the situation. The demon looked both strong and dexterous, though not as much as the Ghoul had done. People were trying to flee from it, but the demon quickly jumped and blocked their path. As the people turned to run the demon raised its arm and grabbed them at their necks, forcing small spikes into their necks.

"We need a diversion" Ben said. "We can't morph with this many people around, and we can't fight it unmorphed out of fear of revealing ourselves. Joseph, Sarah, I need you two to help the citizens escape. While they are occupied, the rest of us will morph and restrain the creature until you can help us. Is that okay with you?"

"Frankly, I don't think we need to" Joseph said. "Look!" He pointed and they all looked. Frantz and his gang were walking down the path when the demon spotted them. It leapt at them and landed right before them. Frantz screamed like a little school girl and tried to run, pushing his followers out of the way. With the demon occupied, the others were able to get away.

"Be careful what you wish for" Sarah said to Ben. "It might come true."

"That's as good a diversion as any" he replied. "Alright, let's Ranger up!"

All as one, the Rangers threw their left arm up in front of them, revealing the morpher. The right arm was thrust downwards, and a small sphere appeared in their hands. It had the colour of its Ranger, only more lucid and transparent. Still synchronised, the five teenagers raised their left arm, pointing straight up; the right hanging down rigid. In a single motion, the five teenagers lowered their left arm while raising the right, allowing the morpher and sphere to pass within an inch of each other. A shock, which felt like hundreds of lightning passing between the morpher and sphere, could be felt in their right hand, only to disappear as the two items were removed from each other. Their right arm continued up until it reached its zenith, after which they drew it backwards. Their left arm was placed before them, their morpher once again revealed.

"Ancient powers, ready to fight!" the five teenagers yelled and slammed the sphere into the black surface of the morpher. As soon as the sphere touched the surface, it gave another shock and the two items merged. As they did, a bright, white light emanated from the morpher and swallowed their bodies. As soon as it had completely engulfed them, the light subsided and revealed the teenagers in their Ranger suits. The suits were similar in design: A white and Ranger-coloured design on the legs; white boots and gloves; the torso was the colour of the Ranger, with the exception of a white circle on their left chest, containing a coloured 'A'. The helmet appeared as soon as the light disappeared completely. First it was nothing but lines around their heads, then the helmet materialised and a dark visor slid in front of their face, darkening their view.

"Power Rangers, Atlantis Knights!" the five teenagers shouted as the morphing was complete. The five Rangers rushed from behind the bush. Travis jumped and kicked the demon away from Frantz and his gang.

"Thanks, but we'll take it from here" he said to a nearly paralysed Frantz.

"Get away" Katherine commanded. "You're in danger here."

"Ri... Right, miss Yellow Ranger..." Frantz and his gang turned tail and ran. The demon was nearly up again and leapt after its prey, only to be shot down by Joseph and Sarah. It pummelled to the ground and rolled away.

"We meet again, Rangers" the demon hissed.

"We know all about your abilities" the Red Ranger said. "And trust me; this is the final time loop."

The demon stared at them, then began to laugh. A deep, mocking laughter. "You actually think that I can reverse time?" the demon asked and roared his laugh again.

"Then tell us" Travis shouted. "Who are you working for?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" the demon replied and rushed at them. It jumped and landed behind Katherine. It grabbed her at the neck and squeezed, forcing the spikes into her neck and throat. Travis threw a punch at the demon, but it moved swiftly, and shielded itself, using Katherine as the shield. She gasped as Travis' punch knocked the air out off her. The demon discarded her with a fling of its arm, knocking her into Ben. The two Rangers tumbled over.

Sarah rushed at the demon, Joseph at her side. The Pink Ranger jumped and planted a foot in the creature's chest. But the demon grabbed hold of the foot and flew nowhere. Still holding tight, the demon swung Sarah around as a flail, flinging her right into Joseph. The two Rangers flew backwards into a three. Travis ran towards it and kicked, but the demon dodged the attack and sent him backwards over to Joseph and Sarah.

"Is this all you've got?" the demon mocked.

"It's no use" Joseph said, trying to catch his breath. "No matter what we do, it's like he's predicting our every move."

"Then we have to surprise him" Sarah replied.

"But how?" Katherine asked. "He knows what we're going to do before we do it."

"We can't start second guessing ourselves" Ben said. "Let's attack him again and see what happens."

"Are you done talking?" the demon asked. "If not, too bad!" the demon flexed its body and shot forward. It came straight at Joseph, Sarah and Travis. They all jumped away to avoid the attack. Travis landed and leapt close again. He threw a fist at the demon but it grabbed it in mid-air and seized Travis' throat. Travis struggled to breathe and felt the spikes penetrate his skin. He kicked at the demon but to no avail. The demon only tightened its grip.

Suddenly, the demon jerked. Its body stiffened and for an instant the grip around Travis' neck tightened. Then, slowly, it loosened and the demon collapsed. Travis fell to the ground, gasping for air. Massaging his sore throat he looked up, and saw Ben and Katherine put the blasters back their holsters. Katherine walked over and extended a hand. Travis took it and got up.

"Thanks" he croaked.

"Don't mention it" Katherine said, smiling beneath her helm. Ben joined them and they walked over to Joseph and Sarah.

"You two okay?" Ben asked.

"We're fine" Joseph replied.

"Not for long!" the Rangers turned around and stared in marvel as the demon forced itself back on its feet. "Now you're going to die!" The demon ran towards them, but the Rangers easily dodged the attack.

"I've just about had enough of this guy" Ben said.

"Me too" Travis agreed. "So let's finish him."

Joseph called out the name of his weapon and slammed the blades together. They combined, forming a bow-like shape and he proceeded to throw it in front of the group where it hovered in the air. Katherine called out hers and split the lance in three. Then, each piece was thrown at the blades, forming small cannons on the underside. Now Sarah called hers and threw them in between the lance pieces. Travis called his and the axe changed form. The two blades split a little, and moved to form a long handle, with the two blades attached horizontally, rather than vertically, as they had been before. After its transformation, it was placed on the underside of the other weapons, encasing the lance and sais. Finally, Ben placed his sword on the top of the weapon and grabbed hold. Katherine and Joseph grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders, while Sarah and Travis supported the weapon.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster!" they all called out as one. "FIRE!" the Mega-Blaster fired and an energy ball, no wider than a foot, flew towards the demon. The demon tried to move, but the gravimetric field created by the energy ball had locked it in place. The demon stared in terror at the energy ball that came closer and closer, until it made contact and exploded. As the explosions subsided the Rangers could see that the creature was completely destroyed.

"Finally!" Sarah sighed with relief.

"This isn't over yet" Ben said. "Let's get to Atlantis and tell them what we know."

*****

*****

*****

It didn't take long for the five Rangers to get to the abandoned church and through the portal to Atlantis. Once there, they demorphed and navigated the hallways to the Throne Room. The room was nearly empty. Only Haslan, Janza and a person the Rangers deduced to be a scientist, were in the room and as soon as they opened the doors, the three of them became quiet.

"Rangers" Haslan greeted them courtly.

"We found the demon that the time demon was working with" Ben said. "Sadly, he didn't say where the other was."

"I believe we may have found an answer to that" Haslan said. "As far as we can tell, the time controller has taken refuge in an old tower outside of Golden Springs."

"And old tower, huh?" Travis mused.

"I got it!" Joseph said shortly. "It's got to be the old lighthouse."

"Right" Ben said. "Well then, I guess we're off again."

"See you" Katherine said to the Atlantians as the group made for the door and slammed it shut behind them.

"I'm sorry" Haslan said and shook his head, then looked at the scientist again. "Where were we?"

"As I was saying before" the man said with his raspy voice, "the energy measured in the Shadowfell has been increasing yet again. And we're also pretty sure that it has just spiked again. The graph seems to be slowing down, possibly even diminishing a bit, but whatever is going on there, it has been repeating itself for months now."

"And you're sure that the energy signature is the same as the previous two times?" Janza asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm afraid so" the scientist said. "Though I cannot imagine what could be producing it."

"Isn't it time we told the Rangers, sire?" Janza asked Haslan.

"Perhaps" Haslan replied. "Though I fear that even if they know, it will only serve to cause panic and confusion." He took a deep breath, held it, and released. "No, I believe we will keep it to ourselves for now." The scientist and captain bowed and left.

*****

*****

*****

"Is this it?" Sarah pried as the Rangers came to a stop on their bikes, now morphed again, so no one could recognise them. Ben parked his motorbike and looked up at the lighthouse. The white paint that had once shined magnificent in the setting sun was now dirty, dusty and, in several places, missing. Every ten feet up or so, was a small window, providing light for whoever had to walk up inside. The red tiled roof was missing in several places and few of the bricks could be seen on the ground.

The lighthouse itself was placed on the edge of a cliff. Originally, it had been further from the edge, but an earth slide had taken away several meters and the distance to the edge was now less than the span of an adult hand. The area around the lighthouse was grassy and a tree line stood a little way back. A brown door hung slightly ajar.

"It doesn't look safe" Katherine said after inspecting it.

"That would explain why it was abandoned" Travis said absently, looking out over the edge. One false step and they would surely fall.

"How about we go inside?" Ben asked resolute. The others joined him at the door. Benjamin grabbed the door knob and slowly opened the door. It shrieked and stuck. Ben heaved and the door came clean off. Putting the old door aside, the Rangers went inside, slowly making their way up the winding stone staircase.

They finally arrived at the top room of the lighthouse. The floor had the colour of chalk, the roof above them as black as obsidian. Around them were large windows, acting like a sort of magnifying glass, in order to better focus the light. Between each window was a pillar, holding the roof aloft. In the middle of the room was a huge device, resembling a giant light bulb, shaped like an egg, standing on a cylinder footing. The footing was mainly green with strips of white, the glass a rippled golden. Behind the bulb stood a tall person dressed in a black robe.

"Stop right there, demon!" Ben shouted at the person.

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" the person replied in a calm, charismatic voice. "After all, you're the ones who just barges in, ordering people around, calling them demons."

"Uh..." Ben fumbled. "Well... um..."

"But you're quite right" the person said and turned around. The hood dropped down to reveal a green face, speckled with black spots around the yellow, cat-like eyes. Its nose was thrust upward, revealing a pair of small nostrils. It had a brown goatee under its mouth, and two similar; one on each cheek. Its arms were covered in bandages. "I am a demon."

"The time messing one?" Sarah asked.

The demon bowed. "That would be me."

"In that case" Ben ordered "you're coming with us."

"Perhaps" the demon answered. "But for now, you're coming with me. This is no place to fight." With this, the demon swiftly turned around and ran, only to jump through the glass and fall to the ground. The demon rolled and got up unharmed.

"Aw man!" Joseph whined. "And we just climbed all those stairs!"

Ben ignored him, ran to the broken window and jumped. He fell freely through the air and just before reaching the ground curled up and rolled the fall off. The other Rangers followed and landed safely next to him.

"This will be much better" the demon said.

Before the Rangers had a chance to reply, the demon ran towards them. It jumped and somersaulted behind them, turned and struck Ben in the back. Ben flew forward and fell to the ground. Joseph lashed out at the demon, but the demon blocked it and raised a leg, surprisingly agile in its robe. The kick connected and Joseph was flung backwards. Travis threw a punch at the demon from behind, but once again the demon was one step ahead. It back flipped before Travis hit it, kicking him in the head as he passed over. Upon landing, the demon spun around and delivered a strike, directly in Sarah's Solar Plexus, knocking her over. Katherine grabbed her blaster and fired, but the demon nimbly avoided all shots. With a swift punch, she too, was laying on the ground.

"Is that all you've got?" the demon asked. "If so, I fail to see how my minion could not have beaten you."

"We won't give up" Ben replied, trying to get his breath back.

"Then come at me" the demon taunted.

"We will" Ben shouted back, now at his feet. "Red Knight Sword" he called and a sword with a red hilt and crimson blade appeared in his hand.

"Yellow Knight Lance" Katherine called out and a long, iron lance appeared in her hand. The iron was the colour of gold, yet strong as obsidian; the blade at the end had the sharpness of a diamond.

"Blue Knight Blades" Joseph called and two silvery blue blades appeared on his arms.

"Pink Knight Sai" Sarah called and weapons that could best be described as a pair of overgrown forks appeared in her hands. The hilt was pink and the blade silver. The middle blade was roughly twice as long as the two surrounding it.

"Green Knight Axe" the Green Ranger called and a giant axe appeared in his hands. The hilt was green, and the two, semi-oval blades had a different, more lucid hue.

"Alright" Ben said. "Time for round two."

"Give it your best shot" the demon replied. "Though it will do you no good."

"Oh yeah?!" Travis yelled. "Then watch this!"

"Travis, no!" Ben shouted but he was too late. The Green Ranger was already going ahead, full throttle. Travis closed in and swung his axe. The demon back flipped out of the way and landed safely. Travis kicked at the demon, which blocked the attack. The Green Ranger withdrew his leg, only to kick with the other, again without success. Travis jumped and kicked the demon in the head. Without means to defend itself, the demon was knocked backwards.

The Green Ranger landed and charged towards the fallen foe. Even before he reached his target he brought his axe up, and as it reached its pinnacle, he began to bring it down towards the demon. But the demon rolled out of harm's way just in the nick of time, and countered by sweeping the legs away from under Travis. As The Green Ranger fell, the demon got up, and planted a swift kick in his side. Travis was rolled away and before any of the other Rangers could stop the demon, it had already taken to the air. Travis came to a stop and the demon rushed downwards at him. It stretched a leg to hit him in the stomach. Travis tried to roll away, but he was too late. The heel had already planted itself in his abdomen. Travis gasped as the air was pushed out of his lungs.

The demon slowly got up. "Would any of you like to try?" it asked, with audible venom in its voice.

"I'm not... done yet" Travis panted. The demon eased his foot a little, only to thrust it down at his throat.

"You are now" it said, its head slightly ajar. Then, it turned to the others. "Let us try again. Which of you are next?"

"If you want a fight, you got it!" Ben said and jumped into the fray, his red sword flashing as the sun crept ever lower. Ben swung his blade but the demon dropped down to avoid it. It made a low sweep at Ben's feet but The Red Ranger jumped backwards and the demon got up. The demon charged at him but Benjamin sidestepped out of the way. As the demon went by, Ben slashed with his sword, but tore only a small rift in the robe. The demon quickly spun around and kicked the sword out of Ben's hand. Before the demon could follow up the attack, Ben threw himself after the sword. He managed grab hold of it and turn around on his back, just in time to block an attack from the demon.

The demon pushed hard and Ben was just about to lose the struggle, when Katherine wedged her lance in-between and heaved, pushing the demon away from her friend. Katherine placed herself between Ben and the demon, holding her lance in her right arm, which was stretched out behind her. She spun it around gave a mighty heave with her arm, slashing the lance right across the demons chest. The demon stumbled backwards in pain. The Yellow Ranger wasted no time and followed up with another slash, this time gripping the lance with both hands. The demon took another step backwards, shrieking in pain. Katherine swiftly turned the lance, spun around and gave a thrust with the blunt end, hitting the demon right in its chest.

The demon clutched its chest and stared madly at her, with eyes that showed the deepest hatred. It charged at her, but was halted in its tracks by Joseph. The demon nearly fell over, but managed to regain its posture. Joseph threw a punch at it, aiming to hit it with the handle of his blade. But he was to slow and the demon ducked under, sending a retaliatory punch back in Joseph's abdomen. The Blue Ranger gasped and attempted a weak punch at the demon's backside. The demon withdrew and unleashed a mighty kick at Joseph, who was launched into the air. Joseph landed a little away and rolled over, completely worn out.

"And now" the demon hissed "back to my prey."

"Aren't you forgetting someone" a voice sounded behind it.

"And who would that be?" the demon asked as it turned around, only to be met with a series of pink energy pellets.

The impact, and the small explosions, sent the demon flying backwards, into the tree line. The demon slowly got up, in order to see The Pink Ranger dash towards it. The demon launched at her, but Sarah jumped to avoid the attack, and, using the demons head as a set-off, spun around and fired her blasters again. The demon howled in pain and flung itself backwards. Sarah was still in the air and unable to dodge. In an instant she was pinned between the demon and a large trunk. The demon eased a bit and before it could press again, Sarah dropped down and made a low sweep, bringing the demon down. Before the demon could touch her, Sarah was well out of reach.

"Me" she said panting.

"I've had it with you brats!" the demon yelled as he rose again.

"The feeling's mutual" Ben replied. The demon stared at him and found all five Rangers grouped together. Apparently, some of them weren't as hurt as the demon had thought.

"Blue Knight Blades!" Joseph cried out and the two elbow blades shimmered in his hands. The handle was pleasantly warm in his hands; the blue, lucid blade cold as ice. Joseph proceeded to slam the two halves together, forming a bow-like shape. Joseph threw the weapon in front of Ben and the weapon stopped; hovering in midair.

"Yellow Knight Lance!" Katherine yelled and the two meter long, yellow lance shimmered in her hands. Streaks of gold twisted up and down the lance in a spiral pattern. Katherine broke the lance in three and threw each part at Joseph's weapon. The pieces attached themselves at either side and in the middle, on the underside of the weapon.

"Pink Knight Sai!" Sarah called out and the sai shimmered in her hand. The pink handle was a sharp contrast to the nearly blank metal, which barely had a pink hue. The middle blade was longer than the others, being twice their size. Sarah tossed them, and her sai placed themselves between the lance pieces.

"Green Knight Axe!" Travis cried and his axe shimmered. The handle was long and strong; the translucent, green blades on the head of the axe stronger. The two blades started to move and placed themselves horizontally on the handle, rather than vertically. Travis threw his axe and it attached itself to the underside of the lance and sai, thus encasing them between the axe and the blades.

"Red Knight Sword" Ben called and his sword shimmered in his hand. The hilt was bright red; the blade a more translucent hue. Ben placed the sword on top of the blades and the weapon was complete. Ben grabbed hold of the weapon, Katherine and Joseph fell down to support the weapon, while Sarah and Travis grabbed hold of Ben's shoulders.

"Atlantis Mega-Blaster!" they all called out as one. "FIRE!" The Mega-Blaster went off, sending a small energy sphere towards the demon. The demon tried to move but to no avail; the energy sphere was locked on its target and the immense energy that radiated from it prevented any and all movement.

"You may have beaten me Rangers!" the demon yelled while he had the time. "But believe me, this is only the beginning of your troubles!" Before the demon could say more, the sphere connected and made a huge explosion. The demon was instantly vaporised.

"And that's a wrap!" Joseph said cheerfully.

"The first thing I'm going to do tomorrow is to not get out of bed" Sarah complained.

"If it is tomorrow, tomorrow" Katherine remarked sarcastically.

"True" Sarah sighed and laughed.

"I'd hate to burst your bubble" Ben said. "But if you forgot, we have a training exercise in Atlantis tomorrow." Sarah sighed again but Ben ignored it.

"Let's get away from here" Travis interrupted.

"I'll second that" Joseph said and the group slowly went back to their motorbikes. The sun was setting as the Rangers finally cleared the area.

*****

*****

*****

A lightning broke. For just an instant, the entire sky was lit up. A dark and over-clouded sky, but a sky all the same. A second passed by. As did another. Finally the sound could be heard, a loud, monstrous rumbling, drowning out all but itself.

Wyrmina stood on the top of one of the towers belonging to her fortress. Another lightning flared, which lit up an evil smile that played on her lips. Around her were six gargoyles, spaced evenly apart. Common for all of them was their huge wings, more than three times the size of their bodies; their sharp talons that curled dangerously, ready to tear open any prey; their muscular stature a frightening look. But despite their artistic similarities, there was another thing Wyrmina appreciated about them even more. Three of the Gargoyles were sitting on their hind legs, supported by their arms; their wings folded in as to protect themselves from the elements. The other three were all standing upright, reaching for the sky with their awkward looking hands; their wings spread wide as if to take flight.

In the brief moment the lightning flared and lit up the dark world that was the Shadowfell, the statues appeared nearly alive. Their teeth seemed to be drooling with water; their eyes vigilant for prey. There were times when Wyrmina herself wondered if the statues really were alive, but usually she pushed those thoughts aside. Not that she wasn't curious, but for now that knowledge served her no purpose.

What did serve her purpose; however, were these gargoyles and the power they held. In the week of the full moon, the gargoyles were slowly being charged with power, one statue at a time. Three months had now passed since the first had filled and she awakened from her four millennia long slumber. Now three of the gargoyles were filled with power. It was better than the single one in the beginning, but not enough to set her plan into motion. For that, she needed to wait another three moons. And once all six gargoyles were filled, they would only have a minimum of time to use it, before the power was let out from the gargoyles and she would have to wait another six moons. A waiting time she couldn't afford, not with the Rangers constantly ruining her plans and getting in the way.

The thunder roar bellowed, still the better of half a mile away. Wyrmina looked up at the dark, waterless clouds. It never rained, and, as far as Wyrmina knew, it never had. The storm was always just dark clouds that never scattered enough to let the weak, pale sunlight hit the ground in a futile attempt to warm it. But the storm was attracted to power, a so-called nexus. And the castle was built on one such nexus. Without it, Quiser's summoning would have been nigh impossible, and for what she was planning, not even their own nexus and the power of the six gargoyles combined would be enough. To her knowledge, and Quiser's for that matter, there were only few such nexuses around the world. One there, in the Shadowfell, another in the human world where Atlantis was located. But that one would be impossible to obtain. Not only had they no way of getting to it, the Atlantians would never give it up if they did find a way.

Her only choice was the third, and last, nexus she knew of; the nexus placed under Golden Springs. She had felt it right from the day she had awakened, but her every attempt to locate it, much less seize it, had been foiled by those pesky Rangers. But not even the thought of the Rangers could ruin the evil princess' mood. With only three gargoyles to go her plan was slowly progressing, and she still had time to obtain the nexus below Golden Springs.

* * *

I said further, not later, ado. Can you say that, later ado? Nevermind... It's getting late and I'm babbling. I've noticed that despite the multitude of hits on my story (usually 60+ in the days following the update), I get around 0 reviews. Can someone tell me why? Another of my stories, Flight of the Huntress, was uploaded nearly half a year ago, and it it still getting reads, but no reviews. This story is my most popular one (in so far my stories are popular), yet I get next to no reviews. I've seen (and read) stories worse than mine (and I have external sources saying I'm above the middle level in here), which have a gazillion reviews.

I know I probably just pissed someone off and that I should probably apologise. But I'm not going to. If you were offended, tough luck. Hate me, despise me, send me hate mail or flaming reviews. As long as you can give an answer as to why nobody bothers to review, you're welcome to hate me all you want.


	9. Chapter 9: Missing Ranger

Hey all. Sorry for the long delay. But hey, it's only been what? 2? 3?... 7?!! 7 months since last update! I sincerely apologize but I simply haven't been in a writing mood. But episode 9 is here now, so sit back and enjoy (or not... depends on what you like of course). Credits to my beta-reader for the title.

* * *

Episode 9: Missing Ranger

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Wyrmina's voice tore through the unusual calm courtyard. She was standing in one of the many arches leading outside, arms folded across her chest. In front of her was a mess of blood and fallen Imps. In the middle of the yard stood Golzor, a demonic knight dressed in pitch-black armour, adorned with golden strings.

The knight turned around and looked at Wyrmina through the visor in his helm. "Training," he snarled.

"And in order for you to _train_ you have to slaughter each and every imp?"

"Unless you provide me with a more challenging encounter, then yes," Golzor replied as he picked up his sword from the ground.

"And what would be a more challenging encounter than the imps?" Wyrmina asked sarcastically.

"The Rangers," Golzor said with a fury behind his words Wyrmina knew only too well.

"Great idea," Wyrmina said. "You go to Golden Springs, the Rangers kick your sorry, little, miserable butt and you come back here, swearing revenge. Again. That sounds like a plan indeed."

"It's better than having that beetle lady battle them."

"For the last time, she's not there to fight them."

"My point exactly!"

"I suppose you have a better plan?" Wyrmina hissed, her eyes blazing.

Golzor growled, but it was drowned in the distant sound of thunder. Wyrmina looked up and saw that the sky, which had been a cool grey when Golzor started training, was now covered in the blackest clouds. A lightning tore through the clouds, illuminating the two contestants.

"If I may," a voice sounded from another side of the yard. Golzor and Wyrmina looked, only to find Quiser walking towards them. He was wearing his dark-magenta robe as always and other than the fact he had pale skin, Wyrmina knew nothing about him. "We are about ready to summon a demon again."

"Finally," Wyrmina said as she walked towards Quiser, "Some good news. Take us." Quiser bowed and turned around heading towards the door he had come from. Wyrmina and Golzor followed him closely. Once inside, they walked through a series of hallways and corridors. All the halls looked the same; the castle was made of obsidian-like stone; the floors were covered in old, tattered cloth; a window broke the barren wall every now and then.

"I believe that we are on the verge of a breakthrough," Quiser said as they walked down some stairs. "By this time next week we should be able to summon not just one but two demons!"

"Impressive!" Wyrmina said, genuinely surprised.

"Indeed," Quiser replied, "I left Fuboon to do the final preparations."

"You did what?!" Wyrmina shouted and stopped. She could not believe what Quiser had just said. "Why would you leave something so important, to an imbecile like Fuboon?"

"Relax, my princess," Quiser said, "Not even Fuboon can screw up thi..."

Before Quiser could finish his sentence, a loud bang could be heard from below. A horrified look appeared on both Wyrmina's and Quiser's face as they ran down the stairs and into the room, Golzor following slowly behind them.

The first thing that met their eyes, as they looked into the room, was chaos. The table and chairs were all knocked over, whatever wall decor there had been once, was now torn to pieces and laying all over the floor. A single decorative statue had tripped over and smashed to a hundred pieces, flooding the mess in chips of stone. In the middle of this chaos was Fuboon, lying helplessly on his back.

"What happened here?!" Quiser asked, paralyzed with horror. Golzor smirked behind his helmet, not that anyone could see it, but before he could say anything, Fuboon grunted and a now non-paralysed Quiser made his way to him. "What happened, Fuboon?" he asked again as he helped him to his feet.

"I just wanted to help you," Fuboon sniffled, "You said that you were busy and in a hurry and... and... I just wanted to help. You always make it look so easy, so I thought I could do it too."

"Which you couldn't" Golzor said hard.

"Please tell me, Fuboon," Quiser started, "What exactly did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," came the reply, "I wanted to, but before I could do anything, I accidentally spilled some of your powder into the cauldron." A look of horror passed over Quiser's face. "And before I knew of it, everything looked like this."

"Oh no," whispered Quiser as he sank to the ground.

"What is it?" snapped Wyrmina.

"If what he says is true, and I have no reason to expect otherwise, we won't be able to summon any demons for a few weeks."

"WHAT!" Wyrmina roared. "Are you sure?"

"Too sure, I'm afraid."

Wyrmina clenched her fist and raised her hands, as if she was preparing to strike someone. "GAH!" Without warning, she turned and left.

"Great job" Golzor remarked sarcastically, where after he too left the scene, leaving Quiser to comfort a crying Fuboon.

-o-

The weather was fair in Golden Springs. As fair as any other October day, that is. The sky was covered in grey clouds, heavy enough to bear water though they had so far remained dry. A strong wind blew through the streets of the city, taking fallen leaves and newspapers with it. Only few cars roamed the windy streets of the city, as most were staying in their homes. Those souls who braved to go outside, quickly sought refuge wherever they could.

In a small restaurant in the city core, Ben was sitting at a table.

"So, what do you do outside of the classroom?" Ben asked his companion.

The girl on the other side of the table sank her food and wiped her mouth before answering. "Well," she started, "sometimes I hang out with my friends. We usually go to the mall and stuff like that." With this, she gave a little jerk with her head, as if laughing it off herself. "You must think it's stupid" she said with a smile.

Ben looked at her and said, "No, not really. My friends as I hang out at the youth centre all the time."

"Really?" the girl asked, her hazel-brown eyes filled with curiosity. After taking a sip of the soda in front of her, she asked: "What do you do there?"

"Usually we just hang out" Ben replied. "We do a little training, practice some moves or simply sit around talking."

"Practice what?"

"Martial arts," Ben replied, "Travis, a friend of mine, and I are both members of the local karate club and we use the youth centre actively as part of our training."

"Sounds like fun."

"It is," Ben said, with a smile, "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you swing by sometime, just so you can see what I'm talking about."

"I'd love that," the girl replied with a smile that lit up her face.

"I'm sorry, I interrupted you," Ben said, shaking his head with a grin, "Please, continue."

"It's quite alright," she replied and took another sip of the soda. Both of their platters were empty but neither had noticed. "As I said, we sometimes go to the mall. Other times, we hang out at one of our houses, talking about school, fashion, boys."

"Hope you'll be talking about me from now on then," Ben grinned.

"Hmm... I might," the girl said, as if she was thinking it over, before laughing, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room."

Ben signed for her to go and she did. Ben sat back and smiled to himself. He could scarcely believe he was here right now. The girl had started in his class less than a week ago. They had been put together on a science project, not one of Ben's strong suits. The girl had introduced herself as Dawn, and thanks to her they passed the project. Ben had then asked what he could do in return, where to Dawn's reply had been that he should invite her out. It seemed surrealistic, but for once, Ben was glad to go with the flow.

Having watched her during dinner, Ben conjured up her face. Her red lips were thin, her nose straight and small and her hazel eyes the most caring Ben had ever seen. There always seemed to be a smile in them. Her hair was short and the colour of mahogany, complimenting her eyes. Overall she was a little smaller than he was, but her looks and being more than made up for it.

"Would you like to pay now, sir?" a waiter asked, waking Benjamin from his daydreaming.

"Uh... yes. Of course," Ben said bewildered, found his wallet and handed over his credit card.

"Thank you," the waiter said, placed their plates on his tray and left. He came back shortly and handed Ben his card.

"I'm back," Dawn said a minute later.

"So you are," Ben replied with a smile, "I took the liberty to pay while you were gone."

"Okay," Dawn said as she sat down again. She looked out of the window and saw that the grey clouds had grown darker. A single drop fell and landed on the window, slowly creeping downwards.

"We should probably get going now," she said as she turned back to Ben.

"Why?" he asked.

"Otherwise we'll never get out before the storm breaks out."

"Good point," Ben answered and both of them rose, took their things and left the building. Ben looked around, but couldn't see anyone else. "Let's get going" he said.

"My house is close by," Dawn said and led the way. They crossed the road and started walking down the street, holding hands.

But before they had gone ten steps down the new road, a loud noise made their ears. A noise like an explosion. Both of them turned around, and saw that the restaurant was in flames. Bright colours of yellow, orange and red lit up the building, while eating away at its very foundation. A few feet away stood Golzor, laughing. Panicking people were running out of the building, screaming, tripping. Without warning, Golzor fired another blast and another explosion followed.

"What's happening!?" Dawn screamed terrified.

"Dawn, listen to me!" Ben said and took hold of her arms, staring her directly in the eyes. "I know you're new to the city, and there are a lot of things you still need to learn, but for now, I need you to get to safety and call the fire department. Can you do that?"

Dawn nodded. "What about you?"

"I'll see if I can help get the people to safety," Ben replied and let go of her.

"But what if you get hurt?"

Ben smiled and gave her a thumps up, "Don't worry. I won't. Now, please, get to safety." Dawn nodded again, turned and ran. As soon as she was around a corner, Ben turned too and ran towards Golzor.

"That's right humans," Golzor bellowed in an uncharacteristically deep voice. "Flee. Run. But no matter what you do, you will still die."

"Not if I have anything to say about that."

"Hm?" Golzor turned around and found Ben in front of him, "So there you are, Red Ranger. I was wondering when you'd show up. I was almost afraid I'd crushed you in the fire."

"Not a chance, tin brain," Ben retorted.

"Hmpf. So it has come to name calling, has it?" Golzor asked, "I could think of a dozen replies, Ranger, but why don't we just skip the crap so you can fight me like a true warrior?"

"Works for me," Ben said and darted towards Golzor. As he came within range he jumped, aiming a punch at Golzor's head. But despite the armour, Golzor dodged it nimbly and landed a kick in Ben's back, effectively sending him into a wall. With no time to think, Ben instinctively protected his head. He hit the wall and fell, his left side bruised by the impact.

Ben slowly uncurled and shook his head. He looked up, just in time to see Golzor rush towards him. Ben tried to jump out of the way, but he was too late. Golzor grabbed him with his left arm and, holding Benjamin like a punching back, shot a powerful, armoured fist into his guts. Ben coughed as the air was blown out of him. Golzor turned swiftly and hurled Ben away, sending him rolling over the road.

"Is this all you got?" Golzor asked as a panting Benjamin got up, "How pathetic!"

_He's right,_ Ben thought, _I can't last much more like this._ Ben felt for his morpher, but couldn't find it. Then it struck him. The morpher was in his bag. But where was that? Ben looked around for it, and found it where he had parted with Dawn. The only problem was that Golzor was standing between him and it. In the distance, the sound of the fire fighters sirens could be heard.

"Now I'll finish you, Red Ranger!" Golzor shouted and started running towards him.

"Heh," Ben said, smiling defiantly, "We'll see."

Golzor closed the distance rapidly, sprinting towards Ben. But to Golzor's surprise, Ben mimicked his move and dashed towards him. Seconds before the two fighters would have clashed, Ben jumped. Golzor looked up, only to see the bottom of Ben's shoe as it made contact with his helmet. Ben set off and continued to soar above Golzor as the knight was forced to the ground. Ben landed a few feet behind him and ran to his bag. He reached it in time and found the morpher. He rose quickly and saw that Golzor, too, was on his feet.

Instinctively, Ben threw his right arm into the air, the red sphere already summoned into his hand. As he lowered his arm to pass it by the morpher, Golzor ran towards him. _Let me make it,_ Ben thought as he swung his arms apart sideways. Golzor was closing rapidly now. _Please let me make it!_ Ben slammed the sphere into the morpher.

For just the shortest of moments, Ben felt a tingling sensation. When it passed, his body was covered in a tight, protective suit, patterned red and white. At his legs and arms the patterns were diamonds; his chest covered in red with a white emblem on his upper left chest, containing a red 'A'.

Golzor threw a punch, but Ben brought his arm up to deflect it. Ben punched back, but the blow had nearly no effect on the armoured knight. Ben jumped back and kicked at his opponent, but Golzor evaded easily and jumped backwards.

"About time you took me serious," he said.

"Yeah? Too bad for you, 'cause now that I'm serious, you don't stand a chance."

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind taking this to the next level" Golzor replied.

"Which is?"

Golzor smirked beneath his helmet. Then, in one movement, he started running towards Ben. Ben brought up his arms as to protect himself, but to no avail. Just before he came in range, Golzor sped up even more, becoming but a streak of light. He raced past Ben and struck him. Ben was knocked over, but before he could hit the ground, Golzor came from behind and attacked again. This time, Ben was flung forwards, and landed some ten paces away.

As Ben struggled to get up, he looked around to find his adversary.

"Behind you, Ranger!" Ben turned around, and realized he was too late. Golzor had jumped into the air, holding his right hand in front of his face. With a scream, Golzor flung his arm out at Ben, causing purple lightning to shoot forth. The lightning hit Ben and around him, causing small explosions that flung pieces of the road at him. A piece hit him in the knee, and were he not already falling, he would have done so now.

"Pathetic," Golzor spat, as he slowly walked towards Ben, "Is this all that you can do on your own?"

"I'll show you..." Ben panted furious. But before he could say more he was cut off by a loud rumbling – the sound of several engines. "You're in for it now," Ben said. "My friends are coming and together, we'll beat you."

Golzor didn't reply. Instead, he started running and turned a corner.

"Hey, get back here!" Ben shouted. "Red Atlantis Bike!" At his command, his bike appeared from around the corner. Ben jumped on as it raced past and gave chase. He soon caught up to Golzor, who accelerated, as if trying to shake him. Ben matched his speed and kept going. Golzor turned a corner and Ben followed him into a small alley.

"It's been fun," Golzor said, "but the game ends here." With that, Golzor mumbled something Ben couldn't make out and pointed at the wall. A flash. Ben shielded his eyes best he could, but the sharp light still blinded him momentarily. As he slowly regained his vision, he saw Golzor step through what Ben made out to be a portal, similar to the one leading to Atlantis.

For a moment, Ben simply sat on his bike. He could give chase to Golzor, but there was no guarantee that he would be able to let the others know. On the other hand, if he waited for his friends, he might not be able to catch up to Golzor. He looked at the portal and realised it was shrinking. Without a second thought, Ben got off his bike and threw himself through.

-o-

Ben groaned and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see grass, even felt it tickling his nose; the damp grass slowly seeping into his clothes. His heart skipped a beat. Where was he? What had happened? He couldn't concentrate, his head hurt like it had been smashed into a wall. Ben screwed his eyes shut, forcing back the pain and opened them again. He was still lying in the grass.

_Not a dream then,_ Ben thought to himself and slowly sat up. He looked around and found himself in a small meadow in a forest. The trees stood high and mighty; the nearest a span thick at least 20 tall. The bark was rough and gnarled, as had it stood there forever, undisturbed. There was a strange mist in the air, obscuring the true height of the tree.

Ben slowly got up. There was no sign of Golzor anywhere, and the portal that had led him to where he was, had disappeared. He was about to pick a random direction, when he heard a voice.

"How brave of you to follow me here, Ranger. Brave, but stupid."

"Show yourself, Golzor," Ben called out, turning to face the direction the voice was coming from.

"Now, why would I do that?" Golzor asked. Ben turned again, the voice had moved to directly behind him. "Why endanger myself, when I can take you out from the shadows?"

"You wouldn't..." Ben started, but was interrupted by a bolt of purple lightning. It struck the ground only a few feet away. Ben's heart was racing. "Coward!"

"Name calling won't help you," Golzor said, the restrain evident in his voice, "But I'd suggest you start running."

"I won't run," Ben said defiantly, "I'll take you on any day."

"So you say, little Ranger, but what can you do without your powers?"

"What do you...?" Ben's eyes widened in shock as he realised what Golzor meant. The feel of the grass. His moist clothes. He wasn't morphed any more. Ben looked at his arm, but his morpher was missing. He felt his back. "Where's my morpher?" Ben asked horrified.

"You mean this?" Golzor appeared from amongst the shadows. In his left hand were the morpher and sphere. "I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you," Golzor taunted.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do," Ben replied.

"Suit yourself," Golzor replied, "But don't say I didn't warn you."

At once, Ben took off and ran directly towards Golzor. He jumped and kicked, but Golzor deflected his attack with his right arm. Ben landed and launched again, this time throwing a fist at Golzor. The dark knight blocked the attack and countered, sending Ben doubling backwards.

"Don't you get it?" Golzor asked mockingly. "I have your morpher now, and there's nothing you can do!"

"Well, it's his bike alright" Sarah remarked as the four remaining Rangers pulled up next to Ben's abandoned bike. They had arrived at the battle scene only a few moments to late, and once they had ensured that everyone was safe, they had left the injured to the police and rescuers. Joseph had called up a search system built into the bikes and tracked down the Red Ranger's bike.

"Yeah, but where's the rider?" Travis asked.

"How should I know?" Sarah asked back, shrugging.

"Perhaps there are clues nearby," Catherine suggested.

"Perhaps," Travis mused, "it's worth checking out."

"I'll take a look at the bike," Joseph said, "maybe there's a recorder or something."

"You think?" Catherine replied sceptically.

"By now, would it surprise you if there were?"

"Good point," she replied and started looking around, joined by Travis and Sarah. They searched the alley for a good ten minutes, but eventually wound up empty handed.

"Did you find anything?" Travis asked Joseph as they returned.

"I'm afraid not," the Blue Ranger replied.

"So, what's our next step?" Sarah asked.

"We go see King Haslan," Travis said, taking charge, "we need to inform him of what has happened. Besides, they might be able to figure out what has happened."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Catherine replied, looking around. No one replied. As one, they all returned to their bikes and drove off.

Ben looked across the clearing, judging the distance between him and Golzor. Golzor stood victorious on the other side of the clearing, holding Ben's morpher in his left hand. If he could distract Golzor for just a second me might be able to leap forth and grab it.

"Now, what are you going to do, Red Ranger, powerless as you are?" Golzor mocked.

"This!" Ben yelled as he fell for the taunt. He ran towards Golzor and jumped, throwing a punch in midair. The knight swiftly evaded the attack and sent Ben flying with a well placed punch. Ben brought up his arms to protect himself only seconds before hitting a giant trunk.

_This is becoming a bad habit,_ Ben thought as he got to his feet. He looked up, and saw Golzor charge towards him. Ben threw himself out of the way, barely dodging it. Golzor stopped and raised a leg, preparing to smash it down onto Ben. Ben rolled aside immediately as soon as the foot came down. He wearily got to his feet.

"So, you can run," Golzor said smugly, "but can you fight?"

_Not as well as with my morpher_, Ben thought to himself. Before Golzor gave him a chance to respond, the armour-clad knight rushed towards Ben. As he neared Ben, he lifted a leg and made a tornado kick, allowing momentum to carry him forth. Ben had just the presence of mind to duck the kick. Before Golzor could regain his balance, Ben shot up and punched at the knight. Golzor stumbled backwards. Ben followed it up with a kick, then another punch, and another kick. Golzor kept stumbling backwards, trying to avoid Ben's flurry. Another punch came flying towards his head. Golzor stepped back and felt the trunk of a tree. He had been backed into a corner.

Ben smirked. He had Golzor right where he wanted. Ben jumped and stretched a leg, aiming at Golzor's head. The knight blocked it with his arms. Ben smirked again. With an effort he twisted his body, putting all his strength into the kick. The foot made contact with Golzor's left arm and the morpher flew out of his grip.

"NO!"

"YES!"

Ben landed and shot into the air, snatching the morpher. He activated it right away, passing his arms by each other and merging the gem and morpher. As the gem merged with the morpher, he was enveloped in a bright, white light. It disappeared as soon as it had appeared and revealed his Ranger suit. The helm appeared right away and Ben's field of vision was given a darker shade.

Ben landed on the ground and turned to face Golzor. "Now the real battle starts."

-o-

The four Rangers got off their bikes and ran up to the church, navigating the fallen debris. When they reached the backside Travis held up his morpher. A green light shone from it and a man-sized portal opened on the wall, leading to Atlantis. One by one the Rangers stepped through and arrived in a small greeting room. The portal closed behind them as soon as the last of them got though. All as one, the Rangers demorphed.

Without waiting for an escort, the Rangers made their way through the castle hallways and approached the throne room. The gang walked up towards the closed double doors, which was guarded by two guards, one on either side. Like most Atlantians they were tall and slim, carrying heavy plate mail and wielding a spear.

Travis reached for the handle, but the guard to the right stopped him.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but the king has ordered us not to let anyone in."

"Not even us?" Travis asked in astonishment.

"Not even you," said the other guard.

"But we need to talk to him," said Joseph, "it's urgent."

"I'm sorry, but there's simply nothing we can do," the first said again, "we can't let you in."

"We don't have time for this!" Catherine said, staring furiously at the guards. "Ben is in danger. We don't know where he is, but his bike has been abandoned and we can't reach him on the communication system." Everyone stared at her in amazement. Catherine was usually the cool and calm one, yet she had absolutely exploded. "Either you let us in or you drag Haslan out here right now!"

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Sarah said, her face beaming. Everyone's attention switched to her. "You said we can't go in, right?" she asked the guards, who nodded in agreement. "But what's preventing one of you from entering and asking if Haslan has a few minutes to see us?"

Everyone was struck speechless. The two guards exchanged glances, clearly not knowing how to react. The four Rangers looked pleadingly at the guards.

"Well... I guess that would be acceptable," one of them finally said. The Rangers let out a sigh of joy, as the guard slid the door open and edged inside, only to close the door again. The four teenagers waited in tension, as every second seemed like a minute; every minute an eternity.

Finally, the guard came back out, with Haslan at his tail.

"I was told you wanted to see me?" the friendly king asked, though his voice was strained. He kept looking across his shoulder, as if expecting someone to follow him.

"Yes," Travis said, taking charge again, "it's about Ben."

"Oh?" Haslan replied and looked around.

"Say, where is Ben?" he asked, when he realised that there were only four of them.

"That's the thing," Travis said, "we don't know." The Green Ranger then explained how they had found Ben's bike and how that had searched the area without finding anything. "And that's the story" Travis wrapped up.

"Hmm..." Haslan mumbled, looking genuinely concerned. "Perhaps he has... and now of all times..." Haslan broke off and a look a fear crept over his face.

"What?" Katherine asked. "What is it?" But Haslan continued to mumble for himself. "Haslan, tell us."

"I'll be just a moment, my friends," Haslan said and turned towards the doors. "I have something to finish here first and then I'll be right with you. And this time" he said, directed to the guards "neither they nor you, enter."

"Yes, sir!" the guards answered in agreement as the king opened the doors, went through and closed them behind him, leaving the Rangers to themselves again.

-o-

CLASH! The sound of metal on metal sung through the forest. Ben and Golzor were exchanging blows and had both started using their swords. Ben jumped back and lunged again, aptly guiding his sword towards its target; its bright silvery blade shone with just a slight tint of crimson, enhanced by the setting sun. But Golzor blocked the attack with his own sword; a mighty, black blade engraved with runes and golden patterns, like his armour.

Bun struggled but he could not match Golzor's strength anymore. It had been easy to begin with, but the fight had dragged on for more than ten minutes now, and his arm was losing strength. How he could even keep lifting his sword was beyond him.

Golzor withdrew, only to lunge at his body again at full force. Ben tried to block the attack, but Golzor had read his move and altered his attack to the legs. Having no choice, Ben threw himself backwards, barely escaping the blade.

But his adversary didn't waste any time. Golzor stepped forward and slashed the air above Ben, who had been on his way up. Ben panted behind his helm, as he ducked to avoid. Golzor kicked and Ben managed to roll out of the way.

"Heh heh heh," Golzor chuckled mirthlessly, "look at you. I thought you were a mighty adversary, but look at you. You're on the ground, broken. You don't stand a chance."

"Oh yeah?" Ben retorted, more confident than he felt. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

"What can you possibly do?" Golzor asked.

"This!" Ben shouted and sprung at Golzor. Using the element of surprise, Ben punched at Golzor's helmet, but the armour-clad knight grabbed his punch. Ben withdrew his punch and tried a kick towards Golzor's body. But once again the knight intercepted the attack. Ben tried with another attack, but that too was blocked.

Before Ben could defend himself, Golzor gave Ben a sucker punch to the stomach. Ben gasped and doubled over, only to receive another blow to his head. The blow sent him flying across the clearing and as he landed he rolled across the barren ground.

Ben heaved for air, as Golzor slowly walked towards him. It didn't make sense. He had fought Golzor alone before, but Golzor had never had this much of an upper hand. Ben looked over at the dark knight, trying to find a weakness. But nothing he had done seemed to even face his opponent. Golzor raised his right hand to his face. As purple lightning started dancing between his fingers, Ben finally realised what was wrong.

Golzor threw his arm out at the Red Ranger and a series of purple bolts flew towards Ben. Without time to dodge, the Ranger threw his arms up to protect himself. The lightning exploded upon impact, sending Ben flying again, this time followed by a rain of dirt and bark.

Ben fell hard to the ground, rolled into a rock and demorphed on impact. The panic he felt showed on his face and Golzor grinned maliciously as he saw it.

"So you figured it out, didn't you?" Golzor asked.

Ben nodded and sank. "I've been here before. The clouds, the trees, the ground. I should have realised it much sooner. That's why you're so strong, isn't it?" Ben asked back, almost expecting Golzor to make an admission. But Golzor remained stoic. "We're in the Shadowfell!"

-o-

At the castle in Atlantis, Haslan was leading the other four Rangers through a series of hallways. They were in a portion of the castle they had never seen before, but none of them were concerned about that right now. Only minutes ago Haslan had come back out from his meeting, grabbed the Rangers by their arms and hurried them along. Now, they were walking as fast as they could, the four Rangers almost running in order to keep up with the king.

"Haslan, what is it?" the Rangers desperately pleaded again.

"I'll tell you as much as I can while we walk, but some of it will have to wait until we reach our destination." Haslan stopped abruptly and turned around to face them. "What I'm about to tell you, must never leave your tongues. You have already been sworn to secrecy about both Atlantis and your identities as Rangers, but we need to know that we can trust you. You must give me your word that you will tell no one of what I'm about to tell, and show, you." He looked gravely at the Rangers in turn. Each of them promised to keep it secret.

"Good" Haslan said, turned and started walking again. "A few weeks ago, something happened to you all. You paid your first visit to another plane, long before you were ready."

"The Shadowfell!" Joseph exclaimed.

"Yes" Haslan replied. "Since then, we've been working on extra weapons and defences, should you ever go back there again. But I'll get to that when we get to our destination."

"I have a question," Travis broke in, "when you first came out, you mumbled something about Ben, something that might have happened to him."

"Yes" Haslan sighed, "as you might have deduced, I'm afraid that he has somehow gone to the Shadowfell."

"But how?" Katherine asked.

"My guess would be a portal, but without analysing the scene; I can't state anything but the obvious" Haslan replied sharply. "Now, if you'll let me continue." He threw a glance back and they all became quiet. "The past few months we've been registering a build in energy in the Shadowfell. Some amongst us were against telling you from the start, but I'm telling you now. We don't know if the build up is coincidental, or related to Wyrmina, but we do know this: It enhances the power of all native Shadowfell creatures."

The Rangers stopped walking as the weight of the words hit them all as one.

"So, you're saying that..." Joseph started.

"No!" Katherine cut him off, "No way!"

"I'm afraid so," Haslan said sombrely. They were all silent for a moment.

"So, if Ben is fighting in the Shadowfell," Sarah started, saying what they all thought, "he'll be fighting someone a lot stronger than him. And... he might not make it." The others sank.

"There must be something we can do!" Travis exclaimed. "We have to go help him, right guys?"

"You will do no such thing!" the king nearly yelled at them. "Ben is in enough danger as it is. Sending you all to the Shadowfell once were an error, doing it again could be catastrophic."

"Right," Travis retorted, "it could be. There's no guarantee." He looked as his friends. "I say we go, now!"

"No, you will not!" the king said so firmly that the Rangers became as quiet as mice. "If you want to save Ben, you'll come with me and say no more until we get to where we're going. Got it?!" The king looked sternly at all of them, until they broke beneath his gaze. "Now, if there's nothing else, let's continue."

-o-

Lightning flew from Golzor's fingers. As it impacted on the tree, the trunk exploded, sending a rain of woodchips into the air. Ben protected his head from the splinters, as he hid behind a rock. Where was Golzor now? He dared not look up, but he had to.

Ben carefully raised his head enough to see over the rock. His eyes widened as he saw Golzor's large sword bearing down on him. He hastily threw himself out of the way, but couldn't quite clear the chips of stone. A single chip cut his cheek.

Ben scrambled to his feet as he tried to get away from Golzor. He threw a quick look around him, choose the path that seemed less obstructed and started running. Purple lightning flew all around him, leaving explosions whenever they made contact. He was constantly running through a cloud of dust, splinters and chips of rock.

Ben ran in panic for minutes, fleeing for his life. The explosions slowly dwindled in number, until there were none. Ben dared a fleeting look behind him. It seemed safe and Ben slowed his pace, then stopped. He bent over to catch his breath.

Out of nowhere, a kick threw him sideways and Ben crashed to the ground. Ben looked up and saw Golzor towering above him. The armoured knight kicked again and Ben rolled into a tree.

"You'd better start running again," Golzor said, mockingly, "otherwise, this hunt will become very boring. And end very – very – badly for you." Ben sank, got up, and ran into the forest again, with Golzor's laughter trailing behind him.

-o-

"What is this place?" the Rangers asked, all as one, as they entered a pair of double doors. The room was vast, the size of the Throne Room, if not larger. The ceiling was domed, in the same fashion as the city. Everywhere were people in long white coats working at a variety of tables. The only shared attribute amongst them were, that they were made of metal. Some were tall, others small; some of them were filled with various equipment, others practically empty.

"This is a laboratory," the king explained, "It's used for research and development and may contain the key to saving Ben. Now, follow me." Haslan lead the Rangers down an aisle between stations then turned right. He kept walking, until he noticed that the Rangers had stopped a good ten paces behind him. He turned around and walked back to them.

"Is that...?" Travis started.

"I think so," Joseph replied.

"Guys," said Sarah, trying to get their attention, "is this what?"

Joseph picked up a large sheet of paper before answering, "They appear to be schematics of our Zords. Weapon systems, defensive capabilities, everything."

"And while you could learn a thing or two about your Zords," Haslan interrupted, "wasn't your friend in trouble?"

"BEN!" Travis and Joseph cried out loud. Haslan walked on and the Rangers followed, Joseph reluctantly letting go of the schematics. Haslan lead them to a remote corner of the room and walked over to a scientist.

"Your Highness," the scientist nodded curtly and returned to his work. Peeking behind Haslan's back, the Rangers could see something red lying on the table.

"Is it ready?" Haslan asked, gesturing at the item.

"Why do you ask?" the scientist replied in a raspy voice, clearly annoyed.

"The Red Ranger is in trouble," Haslan replied, keeping his cool, "and he needs it."

The scientist sighed. "The shield itself is done, yes," he replied, "but it hasn't been field-tested yet."

"Then consider this its field-test," Haslan replied, then turned to the Rangers. "Come over here and take a look, this is why I wanted you down here." The four Rangers stepped closer and looked at the shield. Its form was a mix between an oval and an octagon, spanning about a meter in length. The frame was red, like Ben's suit, while the rest was a silvery glass-like colour.

"Ever since you became Rangers we have constantly been working to increase your chances," Haslan explained, "the boosters are one such example, if not the best. And ever since you first entered the Shadowfell, this need has become all the more urgent. This shield has been in development... how long?" he asked the scientist.

"Two months," came the swift reply.

"Two months?" Travis asked in shock. "It took you two months to design a simple shield?"

"A simple shield?!" the scientist spat. "Let me tell you something, mister. This 'simple' shield is capable of withstanding any heat short of lava; it is made of our strongest alloy, making it nigh indestructible; and its middle is capable of reflecting most, if not any kind, of energy weapon." The scientist stopped to catch his breath.

"Okay, okay," Travis said, putting up his hands, "I'm sorry."

"You'd better be," the scientist said with obvious contempt.

"Let's all just calm down," the king said nervously. "Now, can you send it to Ben?"

"Yes," the scientist said, "It should take a minute." He then turned to do his work, leaving Haslan and the Rangers alone.

"Now what?" Joseph asked.

"Now, we wait," Haslan said, "and pray."

-o-

"AGH!" Ben screamed as a lightning exploded next to him, hurling him into a tree. He managed to stay on his feet and pushed himself away from it. As soon as he did, another lightning tore the tree in half. Ben threw himself out of the way to avoid the falling trunk. BUMB! The sound of the trunk hitting the forest floor was deafening. Ben turned his head and panted. The tree had fallen right beside him.

Not looking, Ben got up. He turned his head forward again as he took the first step, only to find himself staring right into the tip of Golzor's blade. Ben eyes widened as the gravity of the situation struck him. But the realisation didn't hurt as Golzor's punch, which sent him falling down again. Ben hit the back of his head on the trunk.

Golzor grinned and took a single step forward. "Guess I win, little Ranger" he said mockingly. "But I commend you. You were a worthy opponent. But now it's over." Golzor raised his sword above his head, wielding it in both hands. "SAY YOUR PRAIERS!"

As the sword came rushing down, Ben closed his eyes and threw his arms up to protect him, knowing that the giant sword would skewer them, only a second before cleaving his skull.

CLANG!

_Clang?_ Ben thought, eyes still closed. _Arms don't go clang._ Carefully, Ben opened his eyes, and looked up at a red and silvery object on his left arm.

"What?" Golzor said and jumped back. Ben too, was in disbelief. "Where did you get that shield?"

"I don't know," Ben answered honestly. "But a good guess would be my friends in Atlantis." Ben jumped back up. "And now it's time for me to kick your butt!" He flung out his right and left arms, holding the red sphere in the right and the morpher and shield on the left.

"Ancient power, ready to fight!" he yelled as he passed the arms across each other then slammed the sphere and morpher together. A bright light enveloped his body then disappeared, leaving Ben behind in his Ranger suit. "Power Rangers, Atlantis Knight!" he yelled on, as he struck a fighting pose.

"Dress up all the times you want," Golzor snarled his former joy now completely evaporated. "It won't change anything."

"Red Knight Sword!" Ben called and a longsword appeared in his right hand. The red hilt fitted perfectly into the palm of his hand; the crimson blade pulsing in perfect mimicry of his heartbeat.

"Okay..." Golzor said hesitantly. "That's new. But it won't matter."

"We won't know unless we try!" Ben yelled and flung himself at Golzor. He swung his sword at Golzor, who now barely had time to block. Ben stepped back then made another vertical slash. Golzor stepped back and Ben lunged forward. But Golzor read the move and used his sword to repel the attack, guiding Ben to his right. Without a pause, Golzor slid forwards and left, retracted his sword and aimed for Ben's back.

But just as Golzor struck, Ben twisted and raised the shield. The sword smashed against the shield and the momentum pushed Ben a few steps backwards, before he regained his balance.

"Grr," Golzor growled and threw his arm up in front of him. Lightning danced between his fingers, and beneath the helmet, Ben sweated. As Golzor threw his arm towards him, Ben raised his left arm, betting it all on his shield. As the lightning made contact, Ben expected them to explode. But instead the lightning bent off and was reflected in various directions, making more, smaller explosions.

"What?" Golzor screamed.

_Now's my chance!_ Ben thought. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" he screamed as he ran towards Golzor, sword raised. Ben leapt and raised the sword above his head, holding it in both hands. As he came down, he slammed it towards Golzor. The black knight hurled his sword up to protect him. The two swords clashed and this time Golzor was pushed several steps backwards.

"THIS IS IT!" the Red Ranger yelled, his sword pulsing vividly. He dashed towards Golzor, who was still off balance and had no time to block or evade. The tip of his sword hit and pierced the left side of the armour.

For a few moments it was as if the world stood still. Nothing moved around them, not a sound could be heard, other than the contestants heavy breaths. Then, roughly ten paces away, a light flared. They shielded their eyes and when it died out, they both turned to look; Golzor still impaled on Ben's sword. Where the light had been before, there now was a portal, leading back to Golden Springs.

"Ben, come in" it sounded through his morpher.

"This is Ben," he replied, turning back to keep a watch on Golzor.

"Thank God you're safe," he heard Katherine sigh and the others cheered.

"Ben, did a portal appear around you?" Haslan voice sounded.

"Yeah," Ben said, "there's a portal."

"Good," Haslan said with relief, "get though and we'll talk on the other side. Haslan out."

"Seems like I'll be the only one to leave," Ben said.

"Don't think you've won, Ranger," Golzor growled, "you may have pierced my armour, but the wound is far from fatal."

"Maybe, but you're in no condition to fight now," Ben replied. With a swift heave he pulled out his sword and ran towards the portal. He stopped midway and turned around. "It was nice playing with you, Golzor. But I'll take my leave now." As Golzor cried out in rage and stumbled to his legs, Ben ran and hurled himself through the portal. Before Golzor was completely at his feet, the portal was gone.

-o-

"What in the world were you thinking?!" Haslan asked Ben after he had returned to Atlantis.

"Well, I..."

"You know very well that protocol dictates to call for help as soon as you are under attack. I thought you of all would adhere to the rules." Ben said nothing to defend himself.

"You had us all worried," Joseph said.

"I'm sorry, guys," Ben said, "I thought I could hold him off when he was alone but he lured me away and I lost my cool."

"That's one way of saying it," Travis mumbled.

"I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course," the other Rangers said. Ben then looked at Haslan.

"I'm not sure," the king replied, "I put my trust in you. If you become severely injured, or even killed, I'll have your lives on my conscience. Perhaps it was wrong to make you Rangers after all." The Rangers stared at him in shock.

"Wh... what do you mean?" Joseph asked with a stutter.

"I'll give you another chance," Haslan said, ignoring Joseph's question, "prove to me that I was right in insisting you becoming Rangers." He looked at them in turn. "But to ensure that you don't do something like this again, I'll schedule extra training for you all." The Rangers moaned. "Starting tomorrow."

* * *

And that's it. A little shorter than what you're used to from me, but I can live with that. There was a lot of things I've tried in this chapter, one being my attempt at writing something semi-romance-like, the other being the many transitions. I wanted to try and make it a little more action-oriented, not to mention it's good practise for when we reach episodes 14-15. Writing those without transitions, would take... more than two chapters, that's for sure. But keep you eyes peeled. With any luck, the next chapter wont take 7 months more. This time, I'm aiming for 4 :)


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